Iraqi electoral commission prepares for expatriate vote

By Mohammed al-Qaisi in Baghdad
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-02-12

[Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images] The Independent High Electoral Commission is finalizing preparations for Iraqis voting abroad.

The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) is preparing polling stations throughout the world to enable Iraqis living abroad to vote in the parliamentary election in March.

On February 8th, the IHEC approved the election observers, the journalists covering the participation of Iraqi voters abroad, and the individuals who will represent Iraq's political entities at polling stations abroad.

Meqdad al-Sharifi, executive director of IHEC's overseas election management office, said the IHEC recently opened 16 offices, and between 140 and 200 polling stations, in countries with large Iraqi communities.

After receiving government approval, the IHEC opened polling stations in the following countries: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Austria, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Britain, Australia, Turkey, Canada and the United States.

"All the countries that the IHEC's board of commissioners decided to allow Iraqis to participate in the election have agreed to open election offices on their soil," al-Sharifi said.

Al-Sharifi said IHEC employees in those countries have begun preparations to ensure the election's success, including appointing staff and assigning storage facilities so the election process can proceed on schedule.

The election will be held on Sunday, March 7th in Iraq, and Iraqis living abroad will be able to vote beginning on Friday, March 5th through March 7th. The larger time frame for voting is designed to help Iraqis who reside in areas far away from the polling stations.

According to al-Sharifi, the polling stations will be open 10 hours a day, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., according to the country's local time.

Sahar al-Haidari, an official in the IHEC, said according to the IHEC's statistics, between 1.8 million and 2 million Iraqis are eligible to vote outside of Iraq.

Al-Haidari called on all Iraqis "to actively participate in the next election, given that it is a historic event."

IHEC spokesperson Qassim al-Abboudi said expatriate Iraqis will vote according to the method outlined under the law approved by the Iraqi parliament.

"The law states that the method of voting for expatriates shall be based on the most recent official statistics provided to the IHEC by the Ministry of Migration and Displaced and the Ministry of Trade," al-Abboudi said. "Under these statistics, Iraqi expatriates shall be entitled to vote for the constituency of the province from which they migrated."

"The law allows expatriates to elect any candidate exactly like voters inside Iraq," al-Abboudi added.

He also praised the role played by the United Nations in rendering assistance to the overseas election management office. The UN appointed more than ten experts to the office, and one or two experts will be available in each election office overseas.

Azhar al-Samarraie, a member of the Iraqi parliament's Committee on Deportees, Immigrants, and Expatriates, said, "The selection by displaced people of honest candidates in the next parliamentary election will put an end to their sufferings sooner and will accelerate their return to their country."

Al-Samarraie, who visited a number of countries where Iraqis are located, added, "Displaced people abroad are determined to take part in the reform and change process by participating in the next election so that they may be the tool of the change that everyone in Iraq wants to achieve."

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