Kurdistan Region closes Hajj lottery registration for 2027 and 2028 seasons

ERBIL, Iraq — The Kurdistan Region's Hajj and Umrah Directorate closed its electronic registration system for the Hajj lottery covering the 2027 and 2028 seasons at midnight, it announced Wednesday. Director General Sheikh Weria Mulana Khalid al-Balisani told a press conference in Erbil that the registration window had been extended by five days due to heavy demand, with approximately 120,000 applications submitted in total. According to a breakdown provided by al-Balisani, 116,693 of the applicants were ordinary citizens, 2,493 were relatives of martyrs, 602 were religious guides, 255 were submitted by companies, and 243 were submitted by doctors. The directorate said applications will now enter a review and verification stage. Final lists will be determined in coordination with Iraq's central Hajj and Umrah Authority, based on the pilgrimage quota allocated to the Kurdistan Region. The lottery draw is expected to take place in the coming days, though no figures have been released on the cost of the pilgrimage.