Voter registration in Kurdistan off to good start – UN envoy

The United Nations envoy to Iraq has congratulated the election officials and people of the Northern Region of Kurdistan “for completing a successful and peaceful first week of the voter registration” for next month’s regional elections.

Staffan de Mistura, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, said 89 voter registration update centres successfully opened across the Northern Region of Kurdistan (KRG) and in Baghdad, according to a news release issued by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

In addition, nearly 40,480 people visited the centres during the first week to verify or correct their information so that they are properly registered to vote in the KRG elections on 25 July.

Mr. de Mistura said that the turnout and participation in the voter registration update in the KRG is a “positive signal” for greater participation in the national voter registration update scheduled to begin in early August for the Council of Representatives election in January 2010.

He urged everyone in the KRG to visit the registration update centres in the coming week to ensure they are properly listed on the voters list before the process is completed.