Voting machines malfunction reported: local media

Local media reports have been circulated of voting machines malfunctioning in Kirkuk and Nasiriyah governates, leaving some voters unable to cast their ballots. 

MEE was not able to independently verify issues reported  in Kirkuk city, the Islamic State group's former stronghold of Hawija, and the Turkmen town of Altun Kopri. 

Election commission authorities have said they were working to fix the voting machines. 

One election official in Nasiriyah told MEE's Suadad al-Salhy that some of the voting machines were unable to identify people's fingerprints.  Observers said to MEE that local officials were told to let voters use the fingerprint of any other finger except the thumb if machines were unable to identify it. 

But despite the rule change, observers noticed that the problem still persisted, especially with elderly voters. 

The chairman of Iraq's election commission said the electoral devices malfunctions were "limited" and caused by "human errors".