ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s top electoral body on Wednesday confirmed to Rudaw that coordination is underway with Baghdad’s education ministry for the handover of schools to be used as polling stations during the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for November 11.
Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), said the commission “has coordinated with the [Iraqi] education ministry on the handover of schools between November 5 and 11.” She added that the Iraqi premiership will announce public holidays on the days voting will take place.
In the Kurdistan Region, Rudaw learned Sunday that 1,516 schools will be converted into polling centers for the vote. The IHEC will take charge of these facilities from the Kurdistan Region’s education ministry on Thursday.
Nabard Omar, director of the IHEC office in the Region, said “1,312 schools will be used for the general vote” in the Region,” and “204 for early voting,” which is set for November 10, one day before the general election.
According to IHEC figures, more than 39,000 polling stations will open across 8,703 centers nationwide, including the Kurdistan Region. An additional 4,501 stations will be designated for special voting, while 97 polling stations will serve displaced voters residing in camps.
Muzaffar Abdulrahman, head of IHEC’s security coordination in the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw last week that security forces will be deployed to polling sites starting the evening of November 6. Voting equipment will be transported over the following two days, and ballot papers will be distributed on the eve of the vote, he added.
Nearly 3.5 million ballot papers arrived in the Kurdistan Region on October 20 in preparation for the key ballot.
Meanwhile, the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Wednesday quoted IHEC deputy spokesperson Nibras Abu Sawda as saying that the distribution of biometric voting cards to eligible voters will continue until election day.
Abu Sawda noted that the commission “has launched an electronic application that allows voters to check the location of their cards at designated centers and distribution outlets.”
According to IHEC data, 21,404,291 voters with biometric cards are eligible to cast their ballots. Special voters number 1,313,980, accounting for about six percent of the electorate.
Abu Sawda added that “logistical materials have been fully distributed among provincial warehouses,” and that “training for polling staff is ongoing.” Procedures for accrediting international and local observers and media outlets are also progressing as planned.
“These steps represent the final stage of preparation for election day,” she said.
The November 11 ballot marks Iraq’s sixth legislative election since the 2003 ouster of the Baath regime.
According to IHEC, 31 alliances, 38 parties, 23 independent candidates, and 56 quota candidates will compete for 329 parliamentary seats, including nine reserved for minorities.