Iraq closed polling stations on Tuesday evening at the end of voting in the parliamentary elections. The Independent High Electoral Commission announced that manual vote counting would begin immediately after ballot boxes were sealed, noting that the electoral process proceeded without technical or administrative issues.

Hassan Salman, the Commission’s legal adviser, told the state news agency that the manual counting process would start “immediately after the closure of ballot boxes,” adding that no irregularities affecting the conduct of the vote had been recorded.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the government adhered to constitutional timelines to ensure the peaceful transfer of power, describing the successful organization of the country’s sixth parliamentary elections since 2003 as a positive achievement for state institutions