ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A total of 788 candidates have been disqualified from participating in Iraq's upcoming parliamentary elections as of Tuesday, on charges of links to the banned Ba’ath Party and criminal records, according to data Rudaw has obtained from the elections commission.
"Prior to investigations into individual cases, the total number of the candidates was 7,926 who had fielded dandidacy to run for the November elections," Imad Jamal, media officer for the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), confirmed to Rudaw.
Parliamentary elections in Iraq are scheduled for November 11.
Of the 788 disqualified, 170 of them were replaced with new candidates by their parties, while the remaining disqualifications were due to criminal records identified by the IHEC.
A total of 370 of the disqualified candidates were barred from running due to alleged ties to the Ba’ath Party, which was outlawed per the Accountability and Justice Act following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled longtime Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The Act, enacted in 2008, guides the country’s de-Ba’athification process. It aims to dismantle the Ba’ath Party’s influence "intellectually, administratively, politically, culturally, and economically" across Iraqi society and institutions.
The Ba’ath party had ruled Iraq from 1968 until 2003, following the US-led invasion that ousted longtime Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
According to the Iraqi constitution, each parliamentary seat represents approximately 100,000 votes, although the actual value per seat may vary depending on voter turnout.
Based on the final results of the 2024 General Population and Housing Census, Iraq’s total population - including the Kurdistan Region - stands at 46.1 million. Of that number, roughly 27 million are eligible voters aged 19 and above. However, only those with biometric voting cards will be allowed to cast their ballots.
