Lawyers volunteer to defend voters against coercion…

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A group of lawyers from four political parties announced on Thursday that, in order to ensure a free and fair vote, they would offer their services to voters facing intimidation in the Kurdistan Region’s parliamentary elections.

The lawyers come from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), the Movement for Change (Gorran) and the Popular Front (Baray Gal), Ali Grdasory told reporters at a courthouse in Erbil.

One of the lawyers, Zana Rostayi, who is also a member of the Kurdistan deputies’ union, told Rudaw that they would accept complaints from voters facing pressure.

“If they see fit to take legal action, we are ready to defend them,” he said.

Rostayi acknowledged that the lawyers had political affiliations, but said that would not impact their work. “We will defend all voters without discrimination,” he said.

Sardar Harki, another lawyer, said they decided to offer their services because the government had not done enough to protect voters from coercion.

“The pressure (tactics) started and voting cards were bought from voters,” he said.

Harki said their goal was to prevent voter fraud and ensure voters can vote freely. Any complaints they receive, they will present to the electoral judiciary.

Nearly 2.9 million people are eligible to vote in the elections scheduled for October 20.

The IHEC has a mechanism for voters and political parties to file complaints throughout the electoral process, but they welcomed the lawyers’ initiative.

This is “a good step,” IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai told Rudaw on Thursday.

The United States will send a team of 103 observers and US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Wednesday that Washington was coordinating with Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and the United Nations Assistance Mission. United for Iraq.

Bashar Aziz contributed to this report.