IHEC decides to cancel the elections abroad

Baghdad - INA

The Independent High Electoral Commission announced the cancellation of elections abroad.
"The commission decided today to cancel the elections abroad," the commission's official media spokesman, Jumana Al-Ghalai, said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
While the Board of Commissioners of the Commission affirmed in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that “the council held a series of intensive meetings in which the file of the House of Representatives elections was thoroughly examined and scrutinized for Iraqis abroad as one of the types of special voting. One of the governmental institutions that can contribute to the success of these elections, foremost among which is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He added, "The Iraqi Parliament Elections Law No. 9 of 2020 stipulates that (Iraqis abroad vote for their constituencies using the biometric card exclusively). However, the commission faced several technical, financial, legal and health obstacles, the most important of which is that the process of registering Iraqi voters abroad is completed on a biometric basis. In all its stages, it takes about (160) days in ideal circumstances, while the remaining period is (40 days) only, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has apologized for conducting the registration and voting process in Iraqi embassies and consulates due to the impossibility of holding it in the current stage and for this election cycle, in addition to what the process will take Opening current accounts in the name of the UNHCR offices outside Iraq, and the security and financial approvals required by those countries.