Iraqi lawmakers move to amend Election Law, confirm election date in October 2025
Shafaq News/ Iraqi political parties are pushing to amend the country's parliamentary election law, a parliamentary source revealed on Tuesday.
MP Arif Al-Hamami, a member of the parliamentary legal committee told Shafaq News that “political blocs and lawmakers have proposed various amendments, including adopting either a single-district or multi-district system within provinces." For example, provinces with high population densities, such as Baghdad, could be split into two electoral districts—Al-Rusafa as one district and Al-Karkh as another.
Addressing concerns about potential delays, al-Hamami affirmed, "The parliamentary elections will proceed as scheduled in October 2025 without any changes or postponements."
Earlier, the Head of the State of Law Coalition (SLC), Nouri al-Maliki voiced his desire to expedite the amendment of the electoral law, urging new Parliamentary Speaker, Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani, to prioritize its approval.
However, lawmakers have acknowledged the challenges of amending the election law due to political divisions among major blocs. Each faction is expected to push for amendments that align with their partisan interests, leading to delays in finalizing other contentious laws that have been stalled for months, they assumed.
Since 2003, Iraq has enacted six electoral laws, evolving from a single national district with closed electoral lists during the transitional period to more complex systems. The latest major overhaul in 2020, prompted by the 2019 protests, replaced the Saint-Lague system with a majority-based system, dividing provinces into multiple electoral districts.
In March 2023, Iraq's parliament passed the third amendment to Law No. 12 of 2018, reversing the changes implemented for the October 2021 elections. The new law reinstated a multi-district system, dividing the country into 83 districts instead of treating each province as a single electoral district.
According to the new electoral law, the Saint-Lague system will be implemented, with each province becoming a single electoral district, reducing the number of electoral districts in Iraq to just 18.
The multi-district system relied on the highest votes to win candidates, offering independents a greater chance to enter parliament.
In contrast, observers argue that the Saint-Lague system complicates this process, as it employs mathematical methods that favor large parties, making it more difficult for independents and non-traditional party candidates to win.
