ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Two people were killed early Tuesday morning after clashes erupted between supporters of the Iraqi Turkmen Front and security forces in the run-up the country's sixth parliamentary elections since 2003.

Security forces were deployed around Kirkuk’s Baghdad Street as people poured onto the streets, with clashes breaking out between the forces and the party’s supporters. The altercations led to the death of two police officers allegedly at the hands of security guard of a candidate belonging to the Iraqi Turkmen Front, The New Region’s correspondent in the city reported.

Speaking to reporters, Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha confirmed later on Tuesday that the assailant was a candidate’s security guard. Taha said that the guard acted “contrary to all legal basis,” noting that there were no grounds to open fire.

The governor added that all of the suspects involved in the incident have already been arrested and their arms confiscated. Taha denied the presence of any political actors behind the incident, adding that the clash “emerged in a random and spontaneous fashion” and that two police officers who were at the scene were caught in the crossfire.

Iraq’s general polling stations opened for the country’s more than 20 million eligible voters at 7:00 am on Tuesday morning, with the centers remaining open until the end of voting at 6:00 pm.

The elections mark Iraq’s first parliamentary vote since 2021, which had a record low turnout at 43 percent.

More than 1.3 million members of the security institutions and over 26,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were eligible for early polling, which was held on Sunday. The early elections had a voter turnout of 82 percent.

More than 185,000 security personnel have been assigned to secure the polling stations across Iraq for the parliamentary elections.

Turkmen are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq, comprising around 10 percent of the population, which amounts to approximately three million.

The Turkmen Front was a key supporter of Baghdad's reclaiming control over Kirkuk and another disputed region following the events of October 2017, which saw the Kurds lose control of the oil-rich disputed city for the first time in more than a decade.

Updated at 09:03 with Kirkuk Governor Rebwar Taha's comments