22 March 2018•Update: 24 March 2018
By Ali Mukarrem Garip
KIRKUK, Iraq
Iraqi Turkmen are crying foul over plans to give Peshmerga fighters loyal to northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government double voting rights in parliamentary polls slated for May 12.
Ali Ekrem, a Kirkuk-based member of the Turkmeneli Party, told reporters Thursday that plans to allow Peshmerga fighters to vote twice -- once as civilians and once as military personnel -- would violate Iraq’s constitution.
“They should be allowed to cast only one ballot,” he said. “They cannot be allowed to cast a ballot in the Kurdish region and another one in Kirkuk.”
The Turkmeneli Party, Ekrem added, had already sent a letter of protest to Iraq’s official electoral commission over the matter.
It remains unclear, however, how the electoral commission will respond to the complaint.
