Iraq bars 12 candidates including senior Shiite figure

Shafaq News – Baghdad

On Sunday, Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) disqualified 12 candidates from the upcoming parliamentary elections, among them Abbas al-Amiri, Secretary-General of the Shiite Coordination Framework (CF).

According to an official document, the exclusions were based on violations of Article 7/3 of the 2018 Parliamentary Elections Law, which requires nominees to demonstrate “good conduct” and stipulates that no candidate may have benefited from a previous pardon for crimes involving financial or administrative corruption, or offenses against public honor.

The decision is part of a broader vetting campaign launched ahead of the November 11 elections. The Commission had earlier barred 65 contenders under the same provision and has separately disqualified others over criminal records tied to charges of murder, bribery, forgery, fraud, corruption, or past affiliation with the outlawed Baath Party.

MP Raed al-Maliki estimated that the total number of excluded candidates, including those targeted under Iraq’s de-Baathification process, could reach 400.