UN refugee agency to facilitate absentee voting for Iraq’s upcoming elections

A large number of Iraqi refugees sheltering in neighbouring countries will be able to vote in Iraq’s parliamentary elections early next month with help from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the agency announced today.

Responding to a request from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), UNHCR said it is ready to cooperate with Iraqi authorities and host governments, providing demographic data on registered Iraqi refugees and informing them of their rights to participate in the 7 March elections.

“As of December 2009, UNHCR had on its records some 300,000 Iraqis who are believed to still be present in the region – including over 210,000 in Syria – of whom close to 190,000 are of voting age,” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva.

Ms. Fleming noted that based on host government sources, the total number of Iraqis in the region is much higher, as hundreds of thousands do not register with UNHCR for various reasons.

UNHCR said it will also provide logistical support that may be needed for a smooth and orderly election process, which many consider to be a major opportunity to consolidate national reconciliation.