ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s electoral commission has approved four more political coalitions ahead of the November parliamentary elections, bringing the total number of new alliances to nine, with three others still awaiting approval. “These four coalitions were approved today, May 29th, by the Board of Commissioners and are part of those new coalitions that had registered themselves, but were only awaiting approval,” Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson for the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC) told Rudaw on Thursday. The approved coalitions are Nineveh First Alliance, Sharakatuna Salahaddin, Shualat al-Diwaniyah and al-Tafawoq. By the May 22, 2025 deadline for registering parties and coalitions, 25 of Iraq’s 66 existing coalitions had confirmed their intention to run. As of Wednesday, approval of only three new coalitions remained pending, according to Ghalai. Previously approved coalitions include the Turkmen Salvation Coalition of Kirkuk, Salahaddin al-Muwahhad (Salahaddin United), Diyala Awalan (Diyala First), Wasit Ajmal, al-Omaq al-Watani (Iraqi Depth), al-Shirqat Li-Ahliha (Shirqat for its People), al-'Emar wa al-Tanmiyah (Reconstruction and Development), al-Badeel (Alternative), and the Yazidi Cause. Iraq’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for November 11, 2025, with special voting set for two days earlier. The election will be held without any amendments to the Sainte-Lague voting method, which is expected to disadvantage smaller parties and independents, instead favoring better-funded, more established parties. Approximately 29 million citizens in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region will have the right to vote by the end of the year, but only those with biometric voting cards will be able to cast a ballot.
