ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Over 262,000 voters in the Kurdistan Region have updated their biometric information among a total of more than 1.6 million across all of Iraq, according to an updated toll seen by The New Region. 

Iraq is set to hold its sixth round of parliamentary elections on November 11 with over 29 million eligible voters, with Iraqi officials calling on Iraqis to cast their ballots and practice their constitutional right. It was reported previously that of the 29 million however, over 8 million people had yet to update their biometric information in order to cast their vote. The toll however shows that as of Tuesday, over 1.6 million more Iraqis have updated their information.

Erbil recorded the highest in the Kurdistan Region in terms of those who have updated their biometric data with more than 116,000 voters, followed by Sulaimani with 85,000 and Duhok with 60,000. 

Baghdad’s Karkh and Rusafa administrations combined for a total of more than 346,000 people, while 237,000 updated their biometrics in Nineveh, followed by Erbil, Saladdin, Anbar, Kirkuk, and Sulaimani. Muthanna and Maysan on the other hand recorded the lowest number of biometric updates with 21,000 and 26,000 respectively.

Iraq is set to use facial recognition technology for the upcoming elections to address the fingerprint registering issues seen in previous polls, an official from the Iraqi electoral body told The New Region on Sunday, which necessitates reregistration for those who had issues with fingerprint readings in previous elections.  

A total of 118 parties and 25 alliances have “expressed their desire to participate,” in the elections according to an official tally by the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC).