ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As part of efforts to safeguard the November legislative elections, Iraqi security forces have ramped up efforts to put an end to vote-buying, as the sale and purchase of voter cards has increased, with northwestern Nineveh province alleged to be the center of the electoral violation and practice.
Nineveh province is one of the most important electoral districts in every election, given its abundant diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds. Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis compete for 34 seats. In previous elections, Kurds and Sunnis had secured the majority of the seats, but this time around, it does not seem to be an easy task, as Shiite lists seek greater dominance and higher number of votes.
"Voter cards are being traded in Nineveh for between 50,000 and 150,000 dinars, down from their initial price of 400,000 dinars," Vian Dakhil, an incumbent Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) lawmaker in Baghdad, told Rudaw. Dakhil has once again fielded candidacy on the KDP's list in Nineveh to regain her seat.
Dakhil spoke about the methods of buying and selling, claiming that the process is "conducted secretly, with voters forced to show their voting slip or take a photo of their ballot paper. Sometimes, they swear that they voted for a specific party and candidate."
Nineveh has over 2,102,000 voters, making it the province with the largest number of voters after Baghdad.
According to the monitoring of the Rudaw Media Network's Elections Department, some political parties purchase and destroy the biometric voter cards of their rivals, making them invalid for voting, thus reducing the number of votes cast by their opponents.
In addition to attempts to buy people's votes, some political parties are making deals to buy votes among themselves in Nineveh, Dakhil claimed, saying it sometimes occurs even among candidates on the same list.
"The Kurdistan Democratic Party has warned its candidates on the Nineveh list that any candidate involved in this issue will be immediately disqualified from the electoral race and removed from the list," she said.
46 arrests for buying voter cards
Iraq has arrested 46 people accused of buying and selling voter cards, Hawkar Chato, coordinator of the Shams Election Monitoring Network, an election watchdog, told Rudaw.
"So far, 46 people have been arrested and are being investigated," Chato said, adding no arrests have been made in the Kurdistan Region on charges of vote-buying.
Chato added that "buying and selling of voter cards is widespread and prevalent in southern and central Iraq."
Approximately 27 million people have the right to vote, but only those with biometric voting cards will be able to cast a ballot.
Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in March announced boycotting the vote, citing widespread corruption. In April, he rejected a formal invitation from Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid to reverse his decision, saying he “will not participate with the corrupt, the insolent, and the enemies of the people.”
The electoral commission has barred over 700 candidates from running due to violations and alleged ties to the ousted Baath party.
Iraq will hold parliamentary elections on November 11.
"No one can vote with someone else's card."
"With the approach of the Iraqi parliamentary elections, there is a buying and selling of voter cards, and Iraqi security forces have arrested more than 40 people," Imad Jamil, head of the media team for the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC), confirmed, reassuring the public that "no one can vote with another card; only its owner can use it. Once used, it ceases to function for 72 hours and cannot be used again."
He labeled the practice as a "crime", adding the IHEC and the courts are investigating this matter.
"Any person, candidate, party, or coalition involved in this crime will be disqualified from the elections," he said.
He also dismissed rumors that parties can take copies of biometric voter cards and claim to be able to identify voters based on the barcode. "No one knows for whom a voter votes. This is solely aimed at pressuring voters."