Over 10 million Iraqi voters may be disenfranchised in upcoming provincial elections

Shafaq News/ More than 10 million Iraqis are at risk of losing their voting rights in the provincial election later this year, Hazim al-Rudaini, the vice president of the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq, said on Saturday.

In a statement to Shafaq News Agency, al-Rudaini explained that the total number of eligible voters, including individuals born in 2004 and 2005, has reached approximately 28 million.

"However, only 18 million have updated their biometric data," he added, "this leaves more than 10 million voters potentially disenfranchised in the upcoming elections unless they comply with the third amendment of the electoral law in force."

"Time is of the essence, with only seven months remaining before the elections," al-Rudaini said.

The Iraqi Parliament voted in March to hold the provincial council elections on November 6, 2023.

In response to the popular protests that began in 2019, the Iraqi Parliament dissolved the provincial councils due to escalating disputes among their members and their involvement in the mismanagement of public funds and widespread financial and administrative corruption.