IHEC: No security breaches across Iraq during elections

Shafaq News – Baghdad / Babil / Kirkuk

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and the Supreme Security Committee said Sunday that no incidents were recorded during the special voting process.

Saad Maan, head of the media committee within the election security team, told Shafaq News that protective measures would continue even after the voting concluded, adding that memory sticks containing election data would be transported by both land and air to ensure safe delivery.

Ali Abbas al-Bayati, spokesperson for the Kirkuk IHEC office, noted to Shafaq News that all designated polling centers had closed without major issues affecting the process. “Technical teams immediately began sealing ballot boxes and transferring them to storage facilities in accordance with established procedures,” he said, describing turnout as good.

In Babil, the IHEC’s media department reported a participation rate of 85%. According to Amir Hussein, director of IHEC’s Babil media office, no violations or disruptions were recorded during either the opening or closing phases of voting. He also pointed out that more than 36,000 security personnel voted across 29 polling centers and 127 related stations distributed throughout the province.

Special voting for Iraq’s parliamentary elections began at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 6:00 p.m., allowing members of the security forces and Peshmerga to cast their ballots.

A total of about 1.34 million Iraqis are eligible to participate in the special vote, though only 1.31 million have received their biometric cards to cast ballots. The electorate includes roughly 1.29 million members of the security and military forces and around 26,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Read more: Iraq’s 2025 poll: +21M voters, new law, fading monitors, and fierce bloc rivalries