Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – A senior delegation from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), headed by the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners, Judge Omar Ahmed Mohammed, commenced official international election monitoring duties in the Russian Federation on Friday, September 18, 2026.

The delegation, which includes Chief Electoral Officer Hussein Abdul-Sada Baheer and Board of Commissioners member Abbas Farhan, is participating as accredited international observers for the Russian State Duma parliamentary elections running through September 20, following a formal invitation extended by the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

IHEC confirmed in an official statement that the visit is designed to enhance institutional cooperation, facilitate knowledge exchange on electoral administration, and examine international frameworks for staging large-scale voting processes.

Alongside their direct oversight roles, the Iraqi delegation is taking part in the international forum entitled “Elections in Times of Turmoil,” an expert convening addressing technical, logistical, and administrative mechanisms required to organize and secure democratic balloting under exceptional operational constraints and shifting geopolitical realities.

As part of their official itinerary, the Iraqi commissioners initiated field inspection rounds across several designated polling stations to observe on-the-ground voting workflows firsthand.

The monitoring tour focused on evaluating voting machine operations, logistical organization, ballot management, and queue protocols inside voting centers. IHEC noted that participating in high-level overseas monitoring missions forms a core element of its strategy to benchmark international best practices, integrate comparative operational knowledge, and refine Iraq’s domestic technical and administrative capacities for future electoral cycles.