and provincial elections in Kurdistan Region and praised the insistence of Iraqis to strengthen the democratic process in the country.

“The UN official praised the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) for organizing and implementing the voting process in a professional manner under difficult security conditions ,” The press office of the Secretary -General of the United Nations said in a statement briefed by " Shafaq News”.

Ban Ki-moon renewed the full support of the United Nations to IHEC according to the mandate of the Security Council .

He urged Iraqis to be patient until counting votes.

Ban Ki-moon said before the election that it is a " significant sign " in the process of democratic transition of power that contribute in strengthening peace and stability in the country .

IHEC announced earlier starting the second process of counting in 60 centers identified by IHEC in Iraq .

It pointed out that the second process of counting in the sub-centers in the provinces will take 3-4 days to complete all the procedures for counting and sorting , then send the results will be sent to the National Center for inclusion in the data entry center .

According to IHEC figures , more than 12 million voters participated in the elections at a rate of 60 percent to select 328 seats in the next parliament from among more than 9 thousand candidates .