An Iraqi security force member waits for verification at a polling station in Baghdad, Iraq, Oct. 8, 2021. Early voting began Friday for Iraq's security forces, prisoners and displaced people ahead of snap parliamentary elections this Sunday. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BAGHDAD, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Early voting began Friday for Iraq's security forces, prisoners and displaced people ahead of snap parliamentary elections this Sunday.
Jumana al-Ghalai, spokeswoman of the Independent High Electoral Commission, said in a press release that polling centers across Iraq opened their doors at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT).
Electronic devices will automatically close the voting process at 6:00 p.m. local time, she added.
More than a million voters from the security forces are scheduled to cast their ballots at 595 polling centers across the country, and more than 120,000 displaced people will vote in 86 polling centers during the day.
The Iraqi parliamentary elections, originally scheduled for 2022, were advanced in response to months of protests against corruption and a lack of public services.
According to the electoral commission, about 24 million Iraqis are eligible to cast their ballots for 3,249 candidates, running individually and within 167 parties and coalitions, vying for 329 seats in the legislature. Enditem
