All You Need to Know About Iraq’s Parliamentary Elections: Rules and How the Competitions Work
The political arena in Iraq will hold parliamentary elections on november 11, 2025, deciding the fate of the legislative branch and the country’s political future, according to the english section of webangah News Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Iraq Al-Hadath website.
In this election, 31 political coalitions, 38 parties, and 75 independent lists will compete for all 319 parliamentary seats.
The Independent High Electoral Commission closely monitors campaign activities to ensure compliance with timing regulations and electoral ethics. It also works to prevent any violations or misuse of state resources for partisan advantage.
Iraq’s Electoral System
Elections expert Yousef Salman explains that Iraq’s current system is based on a single electoral district per province. Each province is treated as an independent constituency.
Salman clarified that seat allocation follows a proportional representation system within each constituency. Seats are distributed according to the proportion of votes each list or political body receives. Winning means securing the highest votes by candidates belonging to those lists. A specific method is used to allocate any remaining seats after votes are counted.
Seat Distribution Through Quotas
the process of distributing seats among winning candidates depends on their vote counts within their lists and political entities in each constituency. This distribution aligns with proportional representation principles so that seats reflect vote shares received by each list.
The amended 2023 electoral law guarantees special quotas for certain social and religious groups. for instance, it mandates that at least 25 percent of parliamentary seats be allocated to women candidates with the highest votes across constituencies.If this threshold isn’t met through direct winners, it is compensated from female candidates who narrowly missed winning but have high votes in losing lists untill women’s presence reaches quota requirements in parliament.
The law similarly reserves seats for ethnic and religious minorities representing parts of Iraq’s social diversity.
Voter Turnout Threshold
Iraqi law does not set a minimum turnout rate as a condition for election validity or cancellation. Thus, once voting concludes under constitutional guidelines, elections are deemed prosperous regardless of participation levels-which only reflect citizens’ engagement with politics and interest in decision-making processes.
Youcef Salman notes that voting begins with a mandatory 24-hour silence period before Election Day during which campaigning is prohibited.
Declaration of Election Results
Iraq typically releases election results in two stages:
- Preliminary results: Usually announced within 24 hours after voting ends as an initial indicator of voter trends;
- Final official results: Released after completing electronic and manual recounts (if necessary), addressing complaints submitted by parties or candidates via both the Electoral Commission and judicial election board;
No fixed timeline exists legally for final result announcements; however, these must occur within a reasonable timeframe allowing thorough scrutiny. The independent High electoral commission oversees vote counting throughout this process.
Salman emphasized that if complaints arise regarding outcomes at specific polling centers or discrepancies between electronic versus manual tallies-or questions about integrity-vote recounts take place accordingly.
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