Iraq's electoral body bars 8 candidates, reinstates 17

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's election commission disqualified an additional eight candidates from taking part in November's legislative elections on charges of links to the banned Ba’ath Party or criminal records.

 

Of a total of 796 candidates disqualified by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), 74 have been reinstated after their appeals were approved, including 17 whose cases were decided on Thursday.

 

Shaho Najim Abdulla, a Kurdish candidate on the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) list in Kirkuk, is among the 17 whose appeals were approved. Abdulla had been disqualified because of alleged membership in the security forces, according to an IHEC document seen by Rudaw.

 

A total of 370 of the disqualified candidates were barred from running due to alleged ties to the Ba’ath Party, which was outlawed under the Accountability and Justice Act adopted in 2008. It guides the de-Ba’athification process, aiming to dismantle the party’s influence "intellectually, administratively, politically, culturally, and economically" across Iraqi society and institutions.

 

The Ba’ath party ruled Iraq from 1968 until 2003 when the US-led invasion ousted longtime Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

 

Based on the final results of the 2024 census, Iraq’s total population - including the Kurdistan Region - stands at 46.1 million. Of that number, roughly 27 million are eligible voters. However, only those with biometric voting cards will be allowed to cast their ballots.

 

The commission has sent the list of candidates to 13 ministries, departments and institutions in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for investigation before their candidacies are approved.

 

"There is no specific date for the completion of the investigation process," Jumana al-Ghalai, IHEC's spokesperson, told Rudaw.

 

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for November 11.