Iraq aims for International standards in 2025 Parliamentary elections
Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has begun preparations for the 2025 parliamentary elections, working to ensure the process meets international standards.
Chief Commissioner Judge Omar Ahmed Mohammed confirmed in a media briefing that biometric voter registration is ongoing across the country, while officials finalize the electoral timeline, secure contracts for election materials, and address other technical preparations.
According to Shafaq News correspondent, the elections are scheduled to take place 45 days before the current parliament’s term ends in January 2026. Funding is sufficient, and the commission is coordinating with the Finance Ministry to ensure timely fund releases.
Judge Mohammed emphasized the commission’s commitment to transparency, stating, “The upcoming elections will be held under the amended 2018 Parliamentary and Local Elections Law, which follows a proportional representation system.”
To further enhance transparency, the commission has established high-level committees to oversee international and local observers. “We have invited international monitoring teams and issued identification badges to facilitate their presence at polling stations across the country,” Mohammed added.
He also highlighted Iraq’s shift toward electronic voting, ensuring a faster and more secure process. “All election equipment will be fully electronic, including voter verification systems, result acceleration devices, and result transmission machines,” he noted.
As Iraq prepares for the October 2025 elections, debates continue over the Election Law and potential changes to the number of parliamentary seats based on the country’s latest census.
Evolution of Iraq’s Electoral Laws
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, Iraq has made several changes to its electoral system, introducing six different election laws to address its evolving political landscape.
In the early transitional phase, Iraq used a closed-list system, treating the entire country as a single electoral district. This changed in 2005 with Election Law No. 16, which introduced a framework dividing Iraq into 18 electoral districts based on its provinces. This system relied on electoral quotient calculations and remained in place until 2010, when a partial open-list voting system was introduced.
Further reforms came in 2014 with the adoption of the Sainte-Laguë method, a proportional representation system designed to ensure fairer seat distribution. Initially, Iraq used a 1.7 divisor formula, which was later adjusted to 1.9 in 2018.
The system changed drastically in 2020, following mass protests in 2019 against corruption and political stagnation. Iraq abandoned proportional representation in favour of a majoritarian model, dividing each province into smaller districts. This shift allowed independent candidates to win 70 out of 329 seats in the 2021 elections, reducing the dominance of traditional political parties.
However, on March 27, 2023, Iraq’s parliament reversed this change, reinstating the pre-2019 system. The amendment reintroduced the Sainte-Laguë method with a 1.7 divisor, treating each province as a single electoral district. This move was met with strong criticism from independent and smaller parties, who argued it favored larger political blocs and undermined the reforms introduced after the protests.
Despite calls for further reform, Iraq’s Parliamentary Legal Committee recently confirmed that no official proposals or drafts to amend the Election Law have been submitted. MP Omid Muhammad told Shafaq News, “The committee has not been presented with any draft or proposal to amend the Election Law, either from the government, parties, political blocs, or members of parliament.”
With parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2025, political divisions remain sharp. The State of Law Coalition (SLC), led by Nouri al-Maliki, is advocating for electoral changes that could strengthen larger political parties, while independent and smaller factions continue to push for greater representation and accountability.
