75% of the election candidates are veterans

Shafaq News/ The director of the Al-Noor University Foundation, Ahmed Jassam Al-Zubaidi, told Shafaq News Agency; "75% of the candidates in the upcoming elections are veterans. This percentage may threaten electoral participation and cause reluctance, due to the participation of the same faces, their control over the state's capabilities."

Al-Zubaidi said, "it is implausible to prevent running for the elections more than twice because it is a constitutional right. Nevertheless, executive positions like ministers shall be limited to two terms at most. Moreover, service in other positions, like director-general and superior grades, shall be limited to specified durations."

Al-Zubaidi predicted that the electoral participation rate in Diyala and other governorates would reach 45-55%, according to the available data, despite many obstacles and problems that increase reluctance, most notably the repetition of veteran candidates, not updating biometric data, and voters' inability to obtain a short-term electoral card.