Over 250 candidates banned from upcoming Iraqi election: IHEC
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Over 250 candidates who had previously registered to campaign in the upcoming Iraqi provincial council elections have been banned from participating, the country’s electoral body told Rudaw on Monday.
A source from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) told Rudaw that 255 candidates have been expelled from the Iraqi provincial council elections, 197 of which for suspected links to the Baath Party.
“197 candidates have been expelled by the Board of Accountability and Judiciary; 56 of them for criminal cases, one candidate for corruption, and another candidate for terrorism,” Emad Jamil, head of the media team at IHEC, told Rudaw’s Hastyar Qadir.
IHEC has announced that the candidates for the provincial council elections will be determined within this week.
The Baath party of former dictator Saddam Hussein is banned in Iraq. Article 7 in the Iraqi constitution prohibits adopting, glorifying or promoting symbols and propaganda from the regime.
Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The councils, created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of Hussein, are powerful bodies that hold significant power in the country, including setting the budgets for several sectors such as education, health, and transport.
The elections will take place across federal Iraq and exclude the provinces of the Kurdistan Region.
A source from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) told Rudaw that 255 candidates have been expelled from the Iraqi provincial council elections, 197 of which for suspected links to the Baath Party.
“197 candidates have been expelled by the Board of Accountability and Judiciary; 56 of them for criminal cases, one candidate for corruption, and another candidate for terrorism,” Emad Jamil, head of the media team at IHEC, told Rudaw’s Hastyar Qadir.
IHEC has announced that the candidates for the provincial council elections will be determined within this week.
The Baath party of former dictator Saddam Hussein is banned in Iraq. Article 7 in the Iraqi constitution prohibits adopting, glorifying or promoting symbols and propaganda from the regime.
Iraq will hold provincial council elections on December 18, the first of their kind since 2013. The councils, created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of Hussein, are powerful bodies that hold significant power in the country, including setting the budgets for several sectors such as education, health, and transport.
The elections will take place across federal Iraq and exclude the provinces of the Kurdistan Region.