Candidates disqualified, fines imposed ahead of Iraq’s elections
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has disqualified several parliamentary candidates and fined others for violating campaign rules, according to new decisions issued on Wednesday.
Documents reviewed by Shafaq News show that the Commission removed Saddam Hussein Habib, a candidate from Kirkuk, from the race and upheld the exclusion of another unnamed contender. It also withdrew approval for Haneen Ali Abdul-Hussein from Baghdad, Ahmed Karim Alwan from Babil, and two other candidates in Baghdad and Babil.
The Commission rejected several complaints filed by candidates, including one from Yasser Sukhail and others, the documents added.
In a separate ruling, the IHEC canceled the candidacies of Khaled al-Mafraji of the Arab Alliance and Hussein Talal of the Azm Alliance, both in Kirkuk, as well as Ahmed al-Issawi of the National Resolve coalition (Al-Hasm Al-Watani) in Al-Anbar.
The Commission also fined 14 candidates in Diyala two million dinars each (around $1,500) for violating electoral campaign regulations.
Since nominations opened, the commission has disqualified over 800 of the contenders. Some were excluded under Iraq’s Accountability and Justice Law, others for criminal convictions or additional legal issues.
Read more: Iraq’s 2025 Parliamentary Elections — What You Need to Know
