The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced on Monday that it will begin auditing the candidates for the upcoming Kurdistan Region parliamentary elections, with campaigning set to commence later this month.

Khalid Abbas, the head of IHEC's Duhok branch, revealed that a legal committee from the commission has arrived in the Kurdistan Region to conduct the audit and approve the candidates. The auditing process is expected to be completed by next week. Prior to this, the Kurdistan Region’s integrity commission and interior ministry had verified and submitted the names of candidates to IHEC.

Campaigning for the parliamentary elections is scheduled to begin on September 16. IHEC has warned against early campaigning, stating that violations could result in financial penalties and possibly revoking the eligibility of candidates, parties, or political blocs to participate in the election.

“After the approval of the names, the campaigning period will start, and most likely that will be on the 16th of this month,” Abbas confirmed.

Approximately 2.9 million people are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections, including around 215,000 early voters. There will be 1,400 polling stations across the region, including in disputed areas and other Iraqi provinces.

Early voting is set for October 18 for security forces and internally displaced persons (IDPs), with the general vote scheduled for October 20.

The electoral process has encountered several challenges, including interference from Baghdad, which has heightened tensions between the Kurdistan Region’s major political parties, particularly the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The last parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region took place in 2018. The upcoming elections were initially planned for 2022 but have faced multiple delays.