ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Twelve new coalitions and 104 political parties have registered to run in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections, the electoral commission said on Saturday.
“The number of registration applications from new coalitions that have expressed a desire to participate in the upcoming elections has reached 12 coalitions, while the number of parties wishing to participate is 104,” Imad Jamil, head of media for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told Rudaw.
The registration period began April 15 and will continue through May 20. The vote is scheduled for November 11.
Jamil said 66 alliances had been registered across the previous three election cycles - in 2018, 2021, and 2023 - and that many of those coalitions remain in place either due to prior registration or internal restructuring.
He confirmed that 12 new alliances have so far submitted applications.
IHEC announced in late April that 70 of Iraq’s 314 registered political parties had expressed their intent to take part in the upcoming vote. On Saturday, Jamil said 33 parties are now formally registered, while 63 others are completing the process.
The vote will be held without any amendments to the Sainte-Lague election 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.
Mushtaq Ramadan contributed to this report.
