ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said on Tuesday that it had recorded 350 election campaign violations ahead of the November 11 parliamentary vote, warning that repeat offenders could face doubled fines or even disqualification.
“We have recorded nearly 350 violations,” Imad Jamil, head IHEC’s media team, told Rudaw, adding that the violators were fined between 2-10 million Iraqi dinars (about $1,500 to $7,600). Around 120 of the cases occurred before the official campaign period began on October 3, he said.
Jamil noted that around 30 candidates have been disqualified following complaints, while 835 others were excluded by the commission for issues such as pending accountability and justice checks, criminal records, or missing documents - including 48 who failed to submit education certificates.
He confirmed that more than 40 people have been arrested for buying and selling voting cards, warning that only legitimate cardholders can cast ballots since each card becomes inactive for 72 hours after use.
In a recent interview with Rudaw, former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi warned that the upcoming elections could be influenced by the misuse of state resources and vote-buying, suggesting that financial power rather than popularity may determine outcomes.
Jamil said election preparations are nearing completion, with only two key tasks remaining - training polling staff and distributing biometric voting cards.
He said that as of Tuesday, about 1.4 million biometric cards had been distributed, and the process will continue until election day.
The head of the commission’s media team detailed that more than 21.4 million Iraqis are eligible to vote using biometric cards, including over a million special voters such as security personnel and more than 26,000 displaced people who will cast ballots in the Kurdistan Region. However, more than seven million Iraqis will not be able to participate because they do not possess voting cards.
He said the reasons for non-participation vary, citing Iraqis living abroad, deceased individuals, and those who have lost faith in the electoral process.
Iraq’s parliamentary elections will allocate 329 seats - 320 for general constituencies and nine for minority quotas.
Nwenar Fatih contributed to this article.
