IHEC contracts with a German company to secure the elections

Baghdad - INA

The Department of Political Parties and Organizations Affairs in IHEC announced today, Thursday, that it has contracted with a solid German company for verification devices, while revealing its measures to prevent weapons in the elections .

The director general of the department, Heyman Tahsin Hamid, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "The Electoral Commission is fully prepared to hold the elections on their scheduled date and is fully committed to the timelines approved by the Board of Commissioners," noting that "it is progressing at a steady pace and that the postponement does not exist in the Commission Agenda.

He pointed out that "measures were taken to prevent the entry of weapons into the elections, as a committee was formed to amend Weapons Law No. 51 of 2017 headed by the Prime Minister's advisor, a representative of the National Security Apparatus and a representative of the Intelligence Service, in addition to a representative of the State Council and a representative of the Department of Parties and Organizations Affairs. 

The political committee in the commission, in order to put in place strict legal provisions for carrying and possessing weapons, and to identify certain parties that would prevent the entry of weapons in the October elections.”

He added, "Iraq is a country of law, and there are financial and freedom-depriving sanctions against anyone who carries weapons without a license or license from the government," noting that "the Supreme Security Committee for Elections, which was formed by order of the Prime Minister and headed by the Deputy Commander of Joint Operations and with the membership of a group Security leaders from different types of security forces, with the membership of the Prime Minister’s Advisor for Electoral Security Affairs, as well as a member of the Board of Commissioners, the Director General of the Department of Parties and Political Organizations Affairs, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, the Ministry of Justice, and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which meet weekly and periodically to secure elections, which contributes to Obtaining fair elections and controlling uncontrolled weapons.

Regarding the registered parties, Hamid explained that "about 267 political parties have so far been registered in the Department of Parties and Political Organizations Affairs in a fundamentalist manner, and the source of their funding is from the members' subscriptions."

He pointed out that "all political parties are obliged to open a bank account in government banks, as well as obligating them to submit a final report for the party's accounts to the Department of Political Parties and Organizations Affairs to be sent according to the Federal Office of Financial Supervision."

In the context of talking about international election observation, the Director-General of the Political Parties and Organizations Affairs Department noted that "the United Nations has a wide role in providing advice, technical assistance and full electoral support to the Commission," noting that "the Commission contracted with a solid German company for verification devices, and this is the first time that Contracting is done in this regard, which contributes to achieving fair elections and the formation of a strong parliament.