Shafaq News

A turning point in Iraq’s political landscape, with nearly one hundred traders and business magnates preparing to contest the November 2025 parliamentary elections—a wave that could redraw the boundaries between capital and political power. Their presence across major alliances and independent lists marks the broadest participation of Iraq’s business class since 2003, raising questions over whether this convergence of wealth and politics will modernize governance or entrench economic privilege.

The elections, set for November 11, will see around 21.4 million eligible Iraqis casting their ballots. Against this backdrop, electoral sources told Shafaq News that roughly 100 prominent traders and investors—some leading distributors and contractors—have joined the race.

Some were recruited by political parties seeking funding and business networks; others entered independently, motivated by influence, prestige, or the opportunity to shape policy directly. A smaller group has even launched its own civic lists, signaling a gradual evolution in Iraq’s political economy where economic power no longer hides behind the curtain of political sponsorship—it competes openly for office.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) confirms that it does not classify candidates by profession. Commission member Emad Jameel told Shafaq News that its role “is limited to ensuring candidates meet constitutional and legal conditions—not determining whether they are traders or entertainers.”

Hassan Hadi Zayer, also of the IHEC, added that Iraq’s laws “place no restrictions on professions,” emphasizing that “any citizen who meets nationality and legal criteria can run.”

This legal neutrality has encouraged a broad social mix within candidate lists, but analysts warn it also dilutes boundaries between economic influence and legislative integrity.

Many business candidates frame their participation as a reformist impulse. Firas Majeisar, a businessman running under the Reconstruction and Development Alliance led by PM Mohmaad Shia Al-Sudani, said his campaign aims to “modernize Iraq’s economic legislation and improve execution of development plans, ” arguing that business leaders bring “financial independence and managerial experience that can translate into effective policymaking.”

Yet critics doubt such claims. Iraq’s fragile institutions, they suggest, risk becoming instruments of private interests rather than guardians of the public good.

Economic analyst Saleh al-Hamash described the influx of businessmen as “a troubling development,” warning that wealthy investors often enter politics to secure investment privileges or use parliamentary immunity to shield their assets.

“When lawmakers have direct commercial stakes, they tend to legislate in favor of their own priorities. The risk is that labor rights, service delivery, and anti-corruption oversight may be sidelined for investment-driven agendas.”

Al-Hamash added that the 2025 campaign already bears signs of monetization—from voter card purchases to financial incentives for support. “Elections have increasingly become a marketplace, where political leaders recruit financiers not for ideology but for campaign capital.”

The intertwining of wealth and politics is not new in Iraq. Since 2003, patronage networks have bound political factions to economic elites through contracts, party donations, and business monopolies. What distinguishes the 2025 race is visibility: financiers are no longer content to bankroll candidates—they are becoming candidates themselves.

Read more:Artists enter politics: Iraq’s election scene takes an unscripted turn

Some see this as the next logical phase in Iraq’s post-oil economy, where private capital demands representation to protect its interests amid fiscal uncertainty. Others view it as the codification of elite dominance—a transition from backroom influence to institutionalized control.

Parallel to this business wave, artists, poets, and digital influencers have also entered the race, reflecting a diversification of Iraq’s candidate base. The IHEC confirmed several nominations from entertainment and social media circles. Supporters hail this as democratic inclusion; detractors see it as populism replacing policy expertise.

The legal framework remains neutral, but the convergence of traders, performers, and online personalities in one electoral field has sparked public concern that parliament may become a contest of visibility rather than vision.

With weeks left before voting day, the 2025 elections have become a referendum on the fusion of economic and political power. If business elites succeed electorally, they may reshape Iraq’s policy landscape—from investment law to state contracting—anchoring governance in market logic. But if left unchecked, analysts warn, this evolution could transform Iraq’s democracy into a monetized system where influence is measured in capital, not credibility.

Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.