"There hasn’t been anything big, though there might have been something small, and the candidate has been informed and the teams had gone and solved it. For example, they might have posted them in bus stops in some places, or some other places. But these are very small cases, which have been viewed as normal," says Ali Karim, a CDJ candidate.
The guidelines issued for lists and candidates by the municipality, environmental body and electoral commission are: using state money and public property is prohibited, not using government offices, religious and education venues as well as archeological sites, avoiding unrest and incitement of national, religious or sectarian violence, not using municipality’s parks and green fields, not covering traffic signs with posters, not using adhesive material or adhesive labels because they cannot be cleaned.
Information from the commission shows that the violations have not gone beyond financial penalties.
"[It] will start with financial penalty to a candidate, political entity or a coalition. But if the violation is bigger than this, it will lead to disqualifying the candidate from running in the election. And if the violation is bigger than this, it might lead to disqualifying a political party from running in an election for one or two terms. But if the violation involves a crime, it will be referred to a court," says Mazin Abdulqadir, head of election body in the Kurdistan Region.
There are 46 seats up for grabs in the three provinces in the Kurdistan Region — including the two Christian minority seats in Erbil and Duhok.
The five Kurdish parties with the most seats in the Iraqi parliament are the KDP, PUK, Gorran, KIU, and Komal. They face challenges from upstarts like the Coalition for Democracy and Justice and the New Generation.
Related: Parties violating election rules, fines not enough: Erbil municipal chief
