IHEC: The precise count of invalid votes in the Kurdistan Parliamentary Elections is not yet available

Peregraf

Jumana Ghalai, spokeswoman for the Iraqi High Election Commission (IHEC), told Peregraf that the exact number of null votes in the Kurdistan parliamentary elections has not been determined yet. She also addressed the concerns of parties and candidates who have raised allegations of "fraud" in the election.

When asked by Peregraf whether it is true that there were over 200,000 invalid votes in the elections, Ghalai responded, “We do not know the exact number yet, but some invalid votes occurred because candidates failed to provide accurate instructions to their voters.”

She elaborated, "Some voters only marked the candidate numbers without selecting a list, while others voted for a list and also chose a community candidate, which caused their vote to be invalidated. There were also ballots without any official stamp, which were deemed invalid."

Regarding the accusations of election fraud and manipulation of results, including claims that voting machines were pre-programmed to influence the count, Ghalai said, "Before the final results are announced, we urge all candidates to visit our offices with a 4-terabyte SSD hard drive. We will provide them with a complete breakdown of their votes at each polling station, along with photographs of voting forms and the tape showing the station-by-station vote count. Candidates can compare this data to verify the accuracy of the results."

Ghalai also confirmed that 189 complaints had been lodged related to both the special and general voting processes. "We are in the process of categorizing these complaints as green, yellow, or red, based on their severity. Once this is completed, we will allocate the seats to the winning parties, and the final results will be announced. Upon the announcement of the final election results, any final complaints must be submitted to the IHEC within a period of three days."

According to official statistics, 2,898,578 voters were eligible to cast their ballots for the 100 seats in the Kurdistan parliament, with a voter turnout of 72%.

The preliminary results of the October 20 elections have sparked widespread protests from various lists and candidates who claim that the results did not meet their expectations. These candidates allege that "planned fraud" influenced the outcome.

While the election did not alter the ranking of the two leading parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which continue to dominate the political landscape, there have been some notable shifts. The New Generation party emerged as the biggest winner, while Gorran experienced the largest decline.