SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi electoral commission announced on Tuesday it had cancelled overseas vote for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for October 10.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said in a statement that it had held a series of meetings to discuss the voting procedures for Iraqi voters living abroad.
The commission cited the coronavirus as well as technical, financial and legal issues facing the commission to hold overseas voting.
The electoral commission further said it would need 160 days to make preparations for the early elections abroad, while it just had 40 days to do so.
“The Iraqi foreign ministry has also apologized for not being able to conduct the registration and voting process in Iraqi embassies and consulates due to the impossibility of holding it in the current stage,” it added.
“The Council of Commissioners decided in its special meeting on March 22 that the parliamentary elections won’t be held for Iraqis [living] abroad,” the IHEC said.
On January 17, the IHEC spokesperson said more than 25 million people were eligible to vote in the elections, but only 15 million voters had so far registered in the biometric system.
The vote is held every four years, but anti-government protesters demanded early elections.
In July, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi called for early elections to take place on June 6, 2021, which was one of the main demands of anti-government protesters who organized months of mass demonstrations beginning in October 2020.
But the Iraqi government postponed the elections to October 10, after the IHEC asked the prime minister to delay the voting to Oct. 16 in an effort to complete technical preparations.
