BAGHDAD, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's early voting for parliamentary elections concluded on Sunday, with a turnout of 82.42 percent, the country's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said.
Omar Ahmed, chairman of the IHEC Board of Commissioners, stated in a press conference that "more than 1.1 million out of 1,340,518 eligible voters cast their votes."
The early voting for security forces and internally displaced people began at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) and closed at 6 p.m..
Sunday's voting was held two days before the country's parliamentary elections slated for Tuesday. The IHEC has set up 8,703 polling centers to serve more than 21 million registered voters for the general election on Nov. 11.
The IHEC announced earlier this month that 7,744 candidates are eligible to run in the parliamentary elections. The candidates will vie for 329 seats in Iraq's Council of Representatives, the parliament. ■
