ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Election observers at polling stations across the Kurdistan Region reported Friday that voters brought phones into polling booths, a violation of election rules that raises concerns about possible voter coercion.

Security forces in the Kurdistan Region visited polling stations on Friday to vote during the early voting period, two days before general voting in the parliamentary elections.

“Phones are being brought into the polling station,” Omed Mohammed, a polling station observer in Sulaimani province, told Rudaw. He could not confirm whether devices were used because observers are not allowed to monitor voters behind voting booths to maintain their privacy.

According to guidelines issued by the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), voters are not allowed to bring their phones inside polling stations. Election observers representing various organizations are also present at polling stations.

At the same location in Sulaimani, another observer said he had not seen phones brought inside and did not know if it was prohibited, but if they were seen they would file a complaint.

“We were told it was completely forbidden to bring phones; now they have brought them all inside,” said Hawkat Latif Ahmed, an observer for the New Generation Movement (NGM), a party running for the elections.

Representatives of various political parties monitor the stations.

Sarbast Amedi is the head of the JAF Network for Monitoring Elections and Democracy, an election observer in Duhok province.

“Voters should not bring phones inside, so as not to be pressured to vote for a particular party,” he said, adding that they had observed violations.

The election is observed by nearly 2,000 members of international missions and civil organizations; However, Amedi said he did not see any international representatives at his voting center.

According to the head of the IHEC media team, Imad Jamil, the election observers include: 25 from the United Nations, three from the European Union, 47 from civil society organizations (CSOs) and 1,604 observers from organizations.

Halsho Abdulfatah, election observer coordinator for a CSO in Duhok, told Rudaw that they had received reports about phones, reiterating that taking photos of ballots was prohibited.

“Taking phones is not a responsibility of IHEC staff. The security committee is responsible for this task,” he said.

On Sunday, IHEC announced that it was installing 22,283 cameras in voting centers: four cameras per voting center – two per voting room within the centers – and four backup cameras.

“The cameras are installed so that they are not visible inside the voting booth,” Abdulfatah said, noting that this arrangement is in line with IHEC instructions to protect voters’ privacy.

In previous elections, there were reports of voters taking photos of their completed ballots as potential proof of their support.

Justice Omar Ahmed, head of IHEC, said he had informed polling centers that phones were banned during voting.

“We have made it known that it is forbidden to take phones indoors in the entire Kurdistan region,” Ahmed told reporters in Erbil.

In response to an alleged case in Halabja, Ahmed said the news was not true.

“We have informed you that the news is not true and that it is forbidden to bring in your phone,” he said. “It was just one of the instructors, I think, who brought his phone in and he was prevented from doing so.”

Around 215,960 members of the security forces are eligible to vote early on Friday. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 6 p.m.

Nzar Jaza in Sulaimani and Haidar Doski in Duhok contributed to this report.