Flagrant violation of the elections regulations in Diyala

Shafaq News/ Political and civil actors in Diyala highlighted flagrant violations committed by the election campaigns of the candidates running for the Parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.

Activists in Khanaqin told Shafaq News Agency, "some candidates sabotaged the infrastructure and urban facades of Khanaqin. The Posters they place on the electricity pylons had damaged them. They also hang those posters where they are not allowed to."

A spokesperson for the Kurdistan Alliance that encompasses the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Change Movement, Abbas Mahmoud, said they filed complaints at the Independent High Electoral Commission against candidates who used religious sites, public schools, and government departments.

"Some candidates exploit the name of the PUK even though they are not affiliated with the party," he said, "we have other complaints to be submitted to IHEC."

Member of IHEC's media department and Electoral Irregularities in Diyala, Hasan Beir Wali, told Shafaq News Agency, "our duty is to identify irregularities in the work of the election campaigns near the polling stations and the exploitation of government departments, public schools, or worshipping places."

The committee, according to Wali, instructs the candidates to remove the violations. "If they do not abide, we file complaints at the national elections bureau that takes punitive measures that include fines and exclusion if the violation persists."

"Filing complaints about damage to infrastructure is a prerogative of the local authorities. They can initiate legal proceedings against the candidates and political forces that violate the elections' regulations," he said.