Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has barred former Kirkuk Governor Rakan al-Jubouri and senior Azm Alliance member Haidar al-Mulla from competing in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

A well-informed source told Shafaq News on Thursday that al-Jubouri, who heads the Arab Coalition in Kirkuk, and al-Mulla, a prominent figure in the Sunni-led Azm Alliance, were excluded as part of the IHEC’s ongoing review of candidates, without providing details about the reasons behind the decision.

The commission has disqualified more than 500 individuals in recent days for reasons ranging from criminal records and corruption allegations to violations of de-Ba'athification procedures and incomplete documentation, such as missing educational certificates.

Sources earlier told Shafaq News that the number of barred candidates could surpass 600.

IHEC confirmed that electoral lists may replace excluded candidates within three days, ahead of the November 11 vote. It said the replacement process will end on September 3 for technical reasons, even if further exclusions are announced after that date.

The disqualification wave has already prompted political reshuffling. On Tuesday, Secretary-General of the National Masses Party (Al-Jamaheer Al-Wataniya,) Ahmed al-Jubouri, known as Abu Mazen, announced that he too had been barred from running. In response, he nominated his son, Mazen, as his replacement.