Iraq elections get high-tech: Facial recognition for voters

Shafaq News/ Iraq’s High Electoral Commission (IHEC) introduced facial recognition technology to enhance voter identification in the November parliamentary elections, the head of the Nineveh elections office revealed on Saturday.

Farhan Al-Maamari, director of the Nineveh election office, told Shafaq News that new biometric devices now include facial recognition features to assist in identifying voters whose fingerprints are difficult to detect. “This is a crucial step toward improving data accuracy and ensuring transparency,” he said.

Al-Maamari also noted that over 65,000 voters in Nineveh have recently updated their biometric data, including first-time voters born in 2007, affirming the ongoing biometric update process which will cover all demographic groups to ensure broad participation in the upcoming election.

Following the government’s announcement of the election date, the IHEC reaffirmed its readiness to conduct the upcoming parliamentary vote and urged political authorities to clarify any proposed amendments to the Electoral Law.

Earlier today, the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq reported that nearly 9 million Iraqis are currently ineligible to vote in the November 11 elections.