Polls close after parliamentary elections in Iraq's Kurdish region

Iraq's self-ruled Kurdish region held its long-delayed parliamentary elections on Sunday, a year after a vote for independence sparked a punishing backlash from Baghdad, leaving Kurdish leaders deeply divided.

More than 700 candidates vied for 111 seats in the elections, in which nearly 3.5 million Kurds were eligible to vote.

Eleven seats are reserved for religious and ethnic minorities: five for Christians, five for Turkmen candidates and one for the Armenian community.

It's unclear how much change the elections could bring or whether the vote would only cement Iraqi Kurdish divisions further.

"In general, the turnout was very low, honestly, few people showed up, which we cannot blame them for. They might be dissatisfied along with other reasons," said Qani Hasib, party observer for the Kurdistan Islamic Group.

Polls closed in the early evening and unofficial results were expected to start coming in later on Sunday.

"If the political parties want to declare the result, I believe that probably within 24 hours, all votes can be counted and declared," said Sherwan Hakim, head of a polling station.

The last parliamentary elections in Iraq's Kurdish region were in 2013, but the assembly stopped meeting in 2015 amid internal political tensions and the war against the Islamic State group.

The political deadlock also delayed new elections, which were originally planned for last November.

Iraqi Kurdish politics have long been dominated by Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party and the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which is riven by infighting.

Those two factions are expected to win the lion's share of the vote.