ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The federal electoral commission denied on Thursday setting any date for the commencement of the campaign for Kurdistan Region’s upcoming parliamentary elections, adding that the process will begin after the approval of all candidate lists. Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw on Thursday that “claims about the postponement [of start of the campaign] are untrue.” However they have yet to set a date for the process to kick off. The IHEC said in a statement earlier on Thursday that it will set a date for the campaign to begin only after it finalizes the lists of candidates running for the polls. Khalid Abbas, head of Duhok’s electoral commission, told Rudaw last month that the campaign would begin on next Monday. Early voting for security forces and internally displaced persons (IDPs) is scheduled for October 18 and the general vote will take place on October 20. The Kurdistan Region last held elections in 2018. The upcoming elections were initially scheduled for 2022, but have been delayed several times due to political wrangling and legal issues. Nearly 2.9 million people are eligible to vote, including around 215,000 early voters. There will be 1,400 polling stations, including locations in the disputed areas and most Iraqi provinces, for eligible voters.
