Iraq's general election begins with uniformed and displaced persons voting

Legislative elections began on Friday in Iraq, with a special voting day reserved for employees of the Ministries of Interior and Defence and other security forces, as well as internally displaced persons, while the rest of the citizens will vote on Sunday.

Polling stations opened at 07.00 local time (04.00 GMT) and will close at 18.00 (15.00 GMT) across the country, where security measures have been put in place to ensure that voting takes place without interference and violence.

Those called to the polls on Friday are employees of the Iraqi Interior and Defence Ministries, the national anti-terrorism special forces, as well as those of the Interior Ministry and the "Peshmerga" Defence Ministry belonging to the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan in the north of the country.

In total, more than 1.75 million voters for whom 2,584 special polling stations have been designated this Friday.

More than 120,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the country will also be able to exercise their right to vote, with more than 300 polling stations set up close to the camps where they live.

Finally, only 671 prisoners sentenced to less than five years can vote in these elections, in six voting centres located in five provinces of Iraq, and they are those who have received a biometric card.

These personal, non-transferable cards, which contain all the voter's details, have been introduced this year to prevent any kind of fraud, from vote buying to the same person casting his or her ballot several times. More than 15 million have been distributed to the 25 million Iraqis eligible to vote.

Iraq has a long history of fraud and manipulation before, during and after voting, but Iraq's Supreme Electoral Commission spokeswoman Jumana al-Galai told EFE this week that the new cards, as well as other measures taken by the authorities, will ensure the integrity of the process.

These elections were called early in response to the massive protests in October 2019, which forced the resignation of the government and shook the political order, also leading to a change in the electoral law.