Iraqis vote in 1st election since Daesh defeat

By Haydar Hadi and Idris Okuducu

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraqis began voting in the country’s first parliamentary election on Saturday since Iraq declared victory against the Daesh terrorist group.

Polling stations across the country, including the capital Baghdad and northern Iraq’s Kurdish region, opened at 07:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 7:00 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).

Voters gathered at polling stations since early morning to cast their ballot.

The election sees more than 7,000 candidates compete for seats in Iraq’s 328-member national assembly.

Roughly 24 million Iraqis out of the country’s 37-million-strong population are registered to take part in the polls.

Saturday’s poll is the country’s first election since Daesh was decisively defeated late last year after overrunning much of northern and western Iraq in mid-2014 and are being held under the shadow of economic crisis, return of thousands of refugees, political polarization and security unrest.