Iraqi Kurds vote for new parliament

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The Iraqi Kurds on Sunday went to polling centers across the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq to elect their parliament members.

The polling centers opened their doors at 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) across the region and will be closed at 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT).

The recount will start immediately after the voting and the result is to be announced within 72 hours after the counting is finished.

Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), voted at a polling station in the early morning and told reporters that he wished "success for all political parties. We are all brothers and have to cooperate with each other."

"The nation will decide the weight of the parties. At the end of the day, we are all at the service of the Kurds and Kurdistan," Barzani said.

Masoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) shows his ink-stained finger after casting his vote during parliamentary elections in the semi-autonomous region, on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq, September 30, 2018. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, Nichervan Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), casted his ballot early in the day in one of the polling centers in the regional capital city of Erbil.

Barzani encouraged voters to go and cast their ballots to choose their representatives, adding that "I hope the results of the vote are respected because it's about the people's choice for a new parliament and government."

About 3 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots for more than 700 candidates within 29 parties and coalitions vying for the 111 seats in the regional legislature.

Under the quota system, the Kurdish political parties will take 100 seats, while the minority groups will share the remaining 11 ones.

The Kurdish parliamentary elections came more than four months after the Iraqi national elections on May 12, which were fraught with allegations of fraud and have yet to result in a new federal government.

The elections are the fifth of their kind since the Iraqi Kurds established the region in 1991.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency