Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region votes for new parliament
Al Jazeera
More than 1,000 candidates, including 368 women, are vying for election to the 100-seat regional parliament.
Voters in Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region are casting their ballots in delayed parliamentary elections amid disenchantment with political leaders and economic instability.
The elections on Sunday are for 100 members of parliament, who will then pick a speaker, a president and a prime minister for Iraqi Kurdistan, which gained self-rule in 1991.
Of the region’s 6 million inhabitants, 2.9 million are eligible to vote for the MPs, including for 30 women mandated by a quota.
More than 1,000 candidates are running, including 368 women.
Iraqi Kurdistan presents itself as a relative oasis of stability in the turbulent region, attracting foreign investors due to its close ties with the United States and Europe.
