Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s 2025 general parliamentary elections witnessed multiple violations, ranging from banned campaigning to restricted observer access, the country’s Coalition of National Networks and Organizations for Election Monitoring reported on Wednesday.
Deploying 5,089 observers across the country, the coalition received over 18,000 reports documenting 501 cases of prohibited campaigning, 415 unclear procedures by polling staff, 382 instances of mobile phones inside polling centers, 359 cases of denied observer access, as well as 41 election-related violent incidents, 49 temporary suspensions of voting, and 48 mismatched vote counts.
Saad Al-Battat, head of the Ein Network for Election Monitoring and Democracy, described the coalition's report as part of a nationwide effort to uphold transparency and reinforce Iraq’s democratic process. He affirmed that voter participation “surpassed 2021 levels,” praising the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC)’s performance and the “high professionalism” of security forces in transferring ballots.
Vian Al-Sheikh Ali, head of the Tammuz Network for Social Development, said the report includes a phase-by-phase analysis “based on questions aligned with international standards for election observation.”
According to IHEC figures, voter turnout in elections exceeded 55%, with 12,009,453 voters participating out of 21,404,291 eligible citizens. Tuesday’s general vote recorded 10,909,637 ballots—about 54% of registered voters—while the special vote on November 9 for security personnel reached 82.5%, with 1,084,289 voters out of 1,313,980 eligible participants.
Read more: Iraq’s 2025 poll: +21M voters, new law, fading monitors, and fierce bloc rivalries
IHEC spokesperson Imad Jamil confirmed that preliminary results will be announced at 6:00 p.m. local time, emphasizing that the commission “is not responsible for results circulated by media outlets.” He added that all ballot boxes are now secured in storage and “will only be opened if formal appeals are filed.”