Iraq: 8M voters did not complete biometric registration for November election

Over 8 million eligible voters in Iraq have not yet completed biometric registration for the parliamentary elections in November, forcing the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to extend the deadline for registration earlier this week. The new deadline for biometric voter registration is June 15th.

IHEC originally launched its voter card and biometric data renewal campaign on March 24th. Millions of citizens, however, have failed to do so before the cut-off date on May 23rd, according to IHEC deputy head Hazem Al-Rudaini.

“The total number of eligible voters has reached 29 million, including new voters born in 2005 and 2006,” says Rudaini. “So far, fewer than 21 million have registered biometrically.

Data from IHEC shows that more than 1.3 million voters across Iraq have renewed their biometric cards before the May deadline. The highest number of renewals was recorded in Nineveh governorate (211,186), with the capital Mosul.

According to Iraqi law, only citizens holding biometric electoral cards are allowed to vote,  reports Shafaq. Through the process of Automated Voter Registration (AVR), voters submit biometric information, which is used to remove duplicates from the voter list and voter identification.

The regulation is a part of IHEC’s effort to prevent electoral fraud and introduce more transparency. The country, however, has been seeing media reports of an underground trade in biometric voting cards. Biometric voter cards are being bought and sold for US$100 each, according to Kurdistan24.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  elections  |  Iraq  |  voter registration