Election drive begins: Over one million campaign posters across Iraq

Shafaq News – Baghdad

More than one million campaign posters have appeared across Iraq as the parliamentary election campaign gets underway, the Strategic Center for Human Rights revealed on Saturday.

Deputy head of the center, Hazem al-Rudaini, said most of the posters were placed in Baghdad’s Rusafa district, while some were vandalized for unknown reasons.

In the capital, the contest is particularly intense between the State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the Reconstruction and Development coalition, led by current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. Both leaders are also running as candidates in Baghdad.

Read more: Baghdad: Ground zero in the battle for Iraq's Parliament.

Al-Rudaini noted that the center documented several violations on the first day of campaigning, including posters placed on traffic islands and fixed to government buildings. He urged the Independent High Electoral Commission to take firm measures against offenders.

The Shams Network for Monitoring Elections reported 301 violations during early campaigning for the upcoming polls.

The election campaigns, which began on Friday, October 3, will continue until November 8. Voting is scheduled for November 11.