Jun 18, 2013

Iraqi Kurdistan: Tackling Inflated Voter Numbers


The upcoming elections in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region have encouraged some MPs to take legal action over what they call inflated voter numbers.

Below is an article published by Press TV:

The upcoming elections in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region have encouraged some MPs to take legal action over what they call inflated voter numbers. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is one of the region’s two ruling parties. The Patriotic Union claims that voter numbers in certain areas have increased by over ninety thousand in just a few months. Party members are worried that this could give way to forgery in September’s elections.

The Patriotic Union has sent its legal case to Kurdistan’s Elections Commission. Arbil and Duhok provinces belong to Kurdistan’s other ruling party - the Kurdistan Democratic Party. The Patriotic Union says voter numbers have increased by 39,000 in Arbil province and 53,000 in Duhok province. But in the Patriotic Union’s Sulaymaniyah province, voter numbers have decreased by 400.

The Patriotic Union says voter numbers are inflated because some names are repeated. Some people died or moved away and their names were not deleted. Kurdistan’s Electoral Commission says it’s taking action to create an accurate electoral roll.

Inaccuracy surrounds voter registration because Iraq has not conducted a national census since 1987. A census would carve up Iraq’s oil-rich disputed territories. Kurdistan does not have the authority to do a census for itself. The region still relies on food ration cards to count the number of voters. Dana Saeed Sofi from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan told Press TV that “dummy” food ration cards were created during the Baath regime. He also said that non-Kurdish citizens might have food ration cards. This also inflates voter numbers.

Kurdistan’s parliamentary and provincial elections are scheduled for September 21. Ruling MPs have decided to postpone the presidential elections. They want to amend Kurdistan’s draft constitution before holding presidential elections.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan will participate in September’s elections as an independent list. The party usually runs in partnership with the Kurdistan Democratic Party. The Patriotic Union’s legal case also emphasizes that the party does not want to jeopardize its chances in the elections.