Iran Press/ Middle East: The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, announced the end of the fourth term of Parliament on October 7th, and the body was effectively dissolved to form a new parliament after the elections.
Holding of elections for special groups, including the armed forces, displaced persons, and prisoners, which began in October 8th, is yet another event to point to.
According to the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission, more than 1.2 million members of the armed forces, displaced persons, and prisoners were eligible to vote in the Iraqi Parliamentary Elections. The rest of the Iraqi people go to the polls on October 10 to elect 329 members of parliament.
At least 167 parties and more than 3,200 candidates are competing for Iraq’s 329 seats in Parliament, according to the country’s Election Commission.
Related news:
Iraq holds voting in general election
Some new and important points about the fifth Iraqi Parliamentary Elections to note:
1) First early Parliamentary Election in Iraq
There had been four rounds of elections before, none of which were snap elections.
2) Iraqi interim government is holding this election
None of the previous elections were held by the Iraqi interim government. The government of Mustafa al-Kazemi is the first interim government in Iraq to hold elections, and this may be the shortest time in office for the government compared to previous governments.
3) Elections were held in 18 provinces in the past
It was not clear who the representatives of each city were, but now elections are held in 83 constituencies.
For the first time, Iraq is divided into several constituencies: 32 Shia-centered constituencies, 17 Baghdad constituencies, 22 mixed Shia and Sunni constituencies, and 12 constituencies for the Kurdish region.
4) Most of the parliamentary seats are in Baghdad, Ninawa, Basra, Dhi Qar and Sulaymaniyah provinces
71 seats are allocated to Baghdad, 34 seats to Ninawa, 25 seats to Basra province, 19 seats to Dhi Qar province, and 18 seats to Sulaimaniyah province, which the number of seats is considered based on population composition.
In other words, out of 329 parliamentary seats, 167 seats are allocated to these 5 provinces, which are more than half of the parliamentary seats.
5) At least 83 women will be in Parliament
In other words, at least one woman from each of the 83 constituencies will be nominated.
The important point is that women compete each other in each constituency first; if another woman wins a majority in the race against men, she can enter the Parliament.
According to Entesar al-Jubouri, a current member of the Iraqi parliament, it is possible for two women to win in one constituency, as one woman will get a guaranteed seat under the new election law, and another seat can be won through competition with male candidates.
6) Minorities have 9 seats in the Iraqi Parliament
The seats include five for Christians, one for the Feylī Kurds, and three for the Saebis, Shabakis, and Yazidis. These seats are in the constituencies of Baghdad, Ninawa, Erbil, Kirkuk, Wasit, and Dohuk.
7) Electoral lists present in the previous elections have been divided
Among the Shia groups, for example, the grand coalitions of Al-Fatah, Al-Nasr, Sairun, and State of Law Coalition have split, and the parties on these lists have entered the electoral field either as parties or independently.
The new election law, in which the parties form a coalition after the election to form the bigger faction or a larger faction could also be related to a major reason for this split.
224
Read More:
Iran supports Iraqi snap elections
