Iraqi authorities distribute ID cards for first elections since US withdrawal
Nearly 22 million Iraqis are eligible to cast their ballots in parliamentary election, scheduled for April 30, to choose 325 lawmakers.
Iraq’s election commission has begun to distribute computerised voter ID cards in all but one of the country’s 18 provinces, preparing for an April election that will be the first since the 2011 withdrawal of the US forces, a spokesman said on Saturday.
Aziz Al Kheikani said the distribution began in four new provinces including the capital Baghdad on Saturday. Voters in 13 provinces began to receive cards, which contain a computer chip, three weeks ago.
He said authorities will decide “soon” on when and how to distribute the cards in the remaining province, Anbar.
In his televised weekly speech on Wednesday, Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki reiterated a pledge to not delay elections because of the violence, calling on people to overcome any reluctance to pick up cards “because their vote will be decisive this time.”
Nearly 22 million Iraqis are eligible to cast their ballots in parliamentary election, scheduled for April 30, to choose 325 lawmakers.
Last October, Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission signed a nearly $130-million (Dh477 million) deal with Spanish technology company Indra to organise the elections by implementing electronic and biometric systems to register voters. The five-year deal stipulates that the company issue 22 million ID chips with voter details recorded on them, as well as supply the needed equipment and training.
Al Kheikani said the cards will be used only to facilitate the process of checking the voters’ details before they take a ballot sheet in upcoming elections. Then will be developed to enable the voters to vote electronically in the future.
