As Iraq’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for 11 November, draw closer, the country’s political arena has been thrown into unprecedented confusion following decisions by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to exclude hundreds of candidates.
The rulings, issued successively throughout August, have become the focus of heated debate inside and outside the Iraqi Parliament, raising questions over the integrity of the entire electoral process.
The story began in mid-August, when the IHEC announced the exclusion of 46 candidates on grounds of a lack of “good conduct and reputation” or criminal or corruption cases or incomplete documentation.
But as the vetting continued, the figures ballooned, and by 24 August the number of disqualified candidates had reached 627, including about 290 under the Law of Accountability and Justice and 106 due to criminal records, according to official data.
On 25 August, the IHEC Board of Commissioners issued fresh rulings excluding 17 more candidates, reinstating three after confirming they had not broken the law and replacing two others affected by accountability measures. The escalation reinforced the impression that the exclusions were not a one-time move, but an ongoing process, leaving the candidates’ electoral campaigns in a state of uncertainty.
Inside parliament, warnings quickly mounted about the implications of the decisions. MP Raed Al-Maliki spoke of the possibility that the number of exclusions could reach the hundreds, while his colleague Amir Al-Maamouri stressed that “the lists keep on growing.”
Meanwhile, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council issued warnings to the candidates to abide by the law during their campaigns, stressing that the electoral environment would be subject to close judicial oversight.
The move was intended to reassure the public that the judiciary was present as a guarantor of the elections, but at the same time it highlighted the fragility of the upcoming phase.
Iraq’s political parties and blocs have also not remained silent, and the exclusion of prominent figures who have held positions since the Iraqi Governing Council was instituted in July 2003 has sparked heated debates within the political blocs, with accusations being levelled at the commission of being “selective” in its decisions.
Some politicians have described this as the “largest exclusion in the history of Iraqi elections,” while fears have prompted several political entities to keep their legal teams on standby around the clock to prepare appeals and line up alternative candidates.
IHEC Spokesperson Jumana Al-Ghallai confirmed that the measures were based on reports from official institutions, including the Ministries of the Interior, Defence, and Education, as well as intelligence and national security agencies and the Supreme Judicial Council. She emphasised, however, that the appeals process remains open, with the judiciary being the final authority in each case.
Each excluded candidate has three days to file an appeal before the judiciary should he or she wish, with the latter issuing final rulings. According to observers, the campaigns are leaning towards adopting “individual appeals” rather than collective ones by presenting certificates of non-conviction or additional documents for each candidate.
Some names are expected to be reinstated if procedural errors are found, while others with criminal records or involvement in clear corruption cases will likely remain barred. The parties will be forced to adjust their alliances, nominate replacements, or even swap seats with others to fill any gaps.
Researcher Saif Al-Saadi described the situation as a shift from “transitional justice” to “selective retaliatory justice,” referring to the continued application of laws that were supposed to be temporary after 2003.
MP Hussein Arab warned that “the strength of the law lies in applying it to everyone without exception,” arguing that excluding some candidates while others remain in official posts could raise suspicions.
Al-Maliki noted that the strict application of Article 7/3 of the Election Law for the first time in the upcoming elections could be interpreted as a constitutional obligation, while academic Yassin Al-Bakri said that the continued work of Iraq’s Accountability and Justice Commission “clashes with the constitution, which states that transitional justice is temporary”.
Observers like researcher Ramadan Al-Badran argued that the developments indicate “political chaos more than an electoral system,” while politician Nadim Al-Jabiri said that standards of “good conduct and reputation” should not be strictly interpreted and criticising what he called an “exclusionary mindset” towards the candidates.
Analysts, however, believe that insisting on transparency and applying standards equally could strengthen the institutional integrity of the elections, while any perception of politicisation would erode voter confidence and the legitimacy of the results.
Political analyst Abdul-Ameer Al-Majar told Al-Ahram Weekly that exclusions from running in elections in Iraq are often based on partisan criteria rather than national considerations, noting that the forces that have been in power in the country since 2003 still control the state apparatus.
He added that the possibility of postponing the elections still remains on the table, given the escalating regional tensions and the possibility of confrontation between Iran and Israel spilling over into Iraq.
The fluctuating figures, tense statements, and continuous appeals that have marked the pre-elections period all indicate that the November elections will be unlike any before in Iraq. These are elections where legal frameworks intersect with political rivalries, amid growing doubts about the IHEC’s ability to enforce consistent standards that can convince both voters and the country’s political elites.
The question that remains is whether Iraq’s institutions can succeed in passing the test of trust and legitimacy, or whether the exclusion decisions will remain like a sword hanging over the stability of the electoral process.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 4 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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