Over 540 disqualified from Iraq’s November ballot over Ba'th ties, crimes

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s elections commission announced on Wednesday that more than 540 candidates have been disqualified from participating in the upcoming parliamentary elections, citing links to the banned Ba’ath Party and criminal records.

“The total number of disqualified candidates has so far reached 542,” Imad Jamil, media officer for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), confirmed to Rudaw.

Parliamentary elections in Iraq are scheduled for November 11. Over 7,900 individuals have registered to compete for 329 seats in the Iraqi council of representatives.

According to Jamil, 160 candidates were withdrawn and replaced by their own political parties, while the remaining disqualifications were due to criminal records identified by the commission.

He further added that 253 candidates were barred from running due to alleged ties to the Ba’ath Party, which was outlawed per the Accountability and Justice Act following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled longtime Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

The Act, enacted in 2008, guides the country’s de-Ba’athification process. It aims to dismantle the Ba’ath Party’s influence "intellectually, administratively, politically, culturally, and economically" across Iraqi society and institutions.

Earlier this week, Jamil had also told state media that more than 400 candidates had been summoned for investigation over suspected Ba’athist affiliations.

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

Among those disqualified is Hasan Qasim al-Khafaji, the current chairman of the parliamentary Investment and Development Committee. He was removed from the race over alleged involvement in criminal cases dating back to 2004 and 2015 - allegations Khafaji denies.

According to the Iraqi constitution, each parliamentary seat represents approximately 100,000 votes, although the actual value per seat may vary depending on voter turnout.

Based on the final results of the 2024 General Population and Housing Census, Iraq’s total population - including the Kurdistan Region - stands at 46.1 million. Of that number, roughly 27 million are eligible voters aged 19 and above. However, only those with biometric voting cards will be allowed to cast their ballots.

Of note, Rudaw learned on Monday that more than 800,000 eligible voters in the Kurdistan Region - around 20 percent - will not be able to cast their ballots in Iraq’s November elections due to failure to update their biometric voting cards. 

The Region’s voter turnout in Iraq’s 2021 legislative elections stood at 45.6 percent, while turnout in Iraq was just over 41.1 percent - the lowest in the country’s modern history.

Nahro Mohammed contributed to this article.