The Iraqi Electoral Commission officials admitted on Monday that more than 15,000 people in a northern town were unable to vote in the Jan. 30 elections due to "irregularities."

In the Burttella town, some 40 km east of Mosul, 15,188 eligiblevoters were unable to cast ballots in the parliamentary elections, Commission official Izzedine al-Mahmoudi told reporters in Baghdad.

"Although the election materials managed to arrive there, the town failed to open the voting centers because the Commission staff did not go to work due to security reasons," al-Mahmoudi said.

"A number of polling stations in the town came under attacks as gunmen looted the ballot papers and other electoral materials and targeted the staff," he said.

Meanwhile, some representatives of Sunni Arab and Christian communities claimed that large numbers of their constituents were unable to vote in northern Baghdad because of electoral mismanagement or an attempt to keep them away from the polls.

The Electoral Commission initially put the turnout of the Jan. 30 elections at 70 percent, but later backed down to around 60 percent. Official results of the elections are expected to be released in a few days.