Iraq deploys 170K officers for elections, cracks down on drugs
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Saturday it will deploy about 170,000 officers and personnel to secure polling stations during the November 11 parliamentary elections, part of a broad plan to safeguard voting and intensify nationwide crackdowns on drugs and illegal firearms.
According to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), 21.4 million Iraqis are eligible to vote across 18 electoral districts.
Brigadier General Muqdad Miri, head of the ministry’s Relations and Media Department, said the plan covers more than 7,000 polling stations for general voting and nearly 600 for special voting, with 9,932 officers and 158,162 personnel assigned nationwide.
He said the operation will run “from the borders to city centers without interruption,” involving intelligence and other security agencies. The ministry will operate under its highest alert level, known as Condition C, throughout the election period.
Miri said authorities have identified 526 false reports aimed at influencing the electoral process and urged citizens to rely on official sources for information. No curfew or movement restrictions are planned during voting, he added.
The ministry reported progress in anti-drug operations that have disrupted major trafficking networks and driven up prices. Iraq has extradited 20 international suspects in narcotics-related cases.
Participation in the ministry’s firearms registration program has also risen, with about 6,000 families registering weapons weekly. Around 42,000 firearms have been withdrawn from civilian ministries as part of efforts to control arms possession and improve public safety.
Moreover, Miri said tribal conflicts have sharply declined, becoming nearly nonexistent in western Iraq and the Euphrates region — a development he attributed to mediation initiatives and tighter law enforcement.
