Iraq president: Vote a chance to 'draw own future'

Iraq's president Barham Salih on Sunday said that upcoming parliamentary elections were a "chance" for Iraqis to "draw their own future" and "re-take the initiative".

Salih was speaking at a final vote simulation presentation organised by the IHEC (Independent High Electoral Committee), aimed to explain the voting process.

At the event, the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said that "these elections have the potential to be very different from the elections in 2018".

In the 2018 elections, which predated electoral reforms passed in 2019, a manual recount had been ordered but encountered problems when a storage unit containing ballots caught fire.

The October 10 election is being held under the new reformed electoral law that divides Iraq into 83 constituencies, instead of 18, which theoretically allows more independent candidates to participate.

In the upcoming elections, 3,449 registered candidates are running for 329 parliamentary seats.

Over 24 million registered voters are expected to participate in the election.

IMAGE: AP