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Iraqi Kurds went to the polls on Sunday to vote for a new parliament, a year after a failed attempt to gain independence and retaliation from Baghdad.
Only 40% of the 3.85 million eligible voters are expected to vote, many of them being disillusioned after years of debt problems, corruption and cuts in public wages.
There is also widespread disillusionment with the current government's inability to realize the cherished independence dream of many Iraqi Kurds after a referendum in 2017 that saw more than 92 percent vote in favor of the government. a break with the Iraqi central government.
Baghdad responded to the referendum by banning international flights to and from Iraqi Kurdistan and retaking the key oil city of Kirkuk, which the Kurds had held for three years. The flight ban was lifted in March, but the region remains mired in an economic crisis.
Iraqi Kurdistan has enjoyed semi-autonomous status since the 1991 Gulf War.
Read more:The Kurdish pursuit of an independent sovereign nation
Nechirvan Barzani, nephew of former president Masoud Barzani, is the current prime minister
Little opposition
More than 750 candidates vie for 111 seats in the regional parliament in Sunday's elections. Eleven of these seats are reserved for ethnic or religious minorities – five for Turkmen, five for Christians and one for Armenians.
The main candidates are the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which share power in the region and at the national level since 2005. Opposition parties only benefit from Low support.
The current divisions and internal struggles within the PUK could however lead the PDK of former president Masoud Barzani to take the lead after the elections. In 2013, the KDP won 38 seats compared to the PUK 18.
Preliminary results are expected with 72 hours of voting at 18 hours. local time (1500 UTC).
Kurdish security forces have already voted Friday.
Read more: Who are the Kurds?
tj / kms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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