ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Leaders of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Sunday cast their ballots in Sulaimani, calling on people to rush to the polling stations.

“I ask the people of the Kurdistan Region to come to the polling stations early and vote,” PUK leader Bafel Talabani told reporters after casting his vote in Sulaimani at the early hours of Sunday. “Some people come late and cannot cast their ballots.”

A similar sentiment was shared by Talabani’s brother and Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Qubad Talabani.

“I congratulate the people of the Kurdistan Region on this day,” he said. “I hope people attend the polling stations and vote for the party that can best serve the people of the Kurdistan Region.”

The Kurdistan Region held its long-delayed parliamentary elections on Sunday.
 
Polling stations across the Kurdistan Region were opened at 7am and will close at 6pm. A total of 2,683,618 people are eligible to vote in the elections on Sunday.
 
A total of 1,191 candidates are vying for 100 seats up for grabs. Of this number, five seats are reserved for the minorities - three for Christians, and the remaining two for Turkmen