Iraq updates biometric voter registry, hastens card distribution as election nears

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) is in the final phase of updating the biometric voter register as the parliamentary election of November 11 draws closer.

At the same time, the election agency is also continuing with the distribution of biometric voter cards for registered voters across the country.

According to IHEC, over 1.9 million voter cards were distributed between September 23 and October 23, representing about 54.2 percent of all registered voters, Channel8 reports.

Per the IHEC figures, of the more than 3.5 million registered voters for the current voter registration cycle, over 3.1 million cards have been printed with 62.5 percent of all printed cards already distributed. The agency also disclosed that over 1.1 million printed cards are yet to reach their owners, while over 475,000 cards are being printed.

As the election date runs in fast, authorities say measures are in place to fast-track the distribution process so that all registered voters will be able to be in possession of their voter card before the election day.

Meanwhile, IHEC also announced that over a million youth in the country have registered to cast their ballot in the November election.

An official of IHEC’s communication team Hassan Al Zayir is quoted by Shafaq as saying that the youth voter numbers are impressive thanks in large part to awareness and sensitization campaigns they have led to encourage high participation for first-time voters.

Zayir also stated that registration is still ongoing for those who want to update their biometric records with the IHEC, while voter card distribution is also in progress with roughly a fortnight to go to election day.

Recently, IHEC also announced the introduction of facial recognition for voter verification during the upcoming election. The measure is to tackle the high of fingerprint scan failures during regional parliamentary elections in Kurdistan last year.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  biometric enrollment  |  biometrics  |  elections  |  Iraq  |  voter registration