858 observers to monitor elections in Duhuk

DUHUK / IraqiNews.com: An estimated 858 local observers from civil society organizations and 177 political bloc agents will monitor the provincial council elections in Duhuk province, due to take place later this month across the country. “Forty-nine local organizations have been registered with the commission ,” the head of the Independent High Electoral Commission’s (IHEC) office in Duhuk, Biyar Doski, told IraqiNews.com news agency. A total of 32,177 displaced persons will vote in the upcoming provincial elections in Duhuk. The provincial council elections are due to be held on January 31 in 14 out of 18 Iraqi provinces. Also spelled Duhok, Dohuk Dehok or Dahok; it is a city in the far northern part of Iraq to the borders with Turkey. It has about 500,000 inhabitants, mostly consisting of Kurds and Assyrians. According to some sources, the name “Duhuk” comes from Kurmanji Kurdish meaning “small village”. Circled by mountains along the Tigris river, Duhuk, the third province with Iraq’s Kurdistan region, has a growing tourist industry. SS (P) 2