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INA- Baghdad
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the start of preparations for the parliamentary elections, noting the support it receives from the Prime Minister; it announced steps towards the adoption of the unified ID card and resolution of the file of those who don’t have fingerprint.
The head of the electoral administration, Judge Amer al-Husseini, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "the prime minister in the last meeting stressed that the most important work that the government must do and conclude its march is to hold free, fair and timely elections, and urged the speed and preparation of all requirements, and stressed to allow the largest number of voters to participate in the elections and discuss the possibility of adopting the unified ID card, which was one of his concerns."
Al-Husseini pointed out that "everyone is keen to hold the elections on time, whether inside or outside the Commission," noting that "the prime minister is an administratively organized, systematic and strong man in the field of follow-up, as he has a follow-up device.”
Early preparations
He stressed that the Commission, since it completed the 2024 elections for the parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has been preparing for the upcoming parliamentary elections by studying the issue of developing and maintaining the electoral devices used, starting from the biometric recording device and the devices that are used on voting day such as the verification and acceleration of results and the transmitter (RTS) down to the results tabulation devices or the so-called (servers); we have reached the final stages, noting that "the Commission has prepared a plan to finance the maintenance of the devices and issue a decision and approval from Prime Minister on the maintenance and development of electoral bodies."
Date of Parliamentary Elections
Al-Husseini explained that "the electoral law requires setting the date of the elections by a decision of the Cabinet in coordination with the Commission, and its legal period must not be less than 45 days from the end of the term of the current parliament."
He pointed out that "the date of holding elections requires the existence of understandings, taking into account the climate of Iraq, so setting it at the end of October or at the beginning of November is reasonable in terms of weather."
Amendment of the electoral law
He continued, "In the event of an intention to amend the electoral law, it must be well before the date of the elections in order to proceed with the procedures in accordance with the law in force by transforming it into programs in addition to conducting simulations for the purpose of avoiding any problems that may occur; the commission receives throughout the year applications for party registration," adding: "We have 319 registered parties and 46 parties are under establishment."
Sadrist movement participation
On the possibility of the Sadrist movement's participation in the elections, al-Husseini said: "The Sadrist movement is a sober movement and has a vast area in Iraqi society, and politicians have repeatedly stressed that the political process is incomplete without the presence of the Sadrist movement," stressing that "the commission has not yet opened the door to participate in the elections, which are usually a period before the date of the elections, so we do not know that the Shiite National Movement, with its new name, wants to participate in the elections or not."
He pointed out that "the number of voters is increasing, as approximately 850,000 are added annually, but voter turnout for registration is weak.”
Unified ID card
On the possibility of adopting the unified ID card instead of biometric, he explained that "the Ministry of Interior agreed with a company that has rights and a software system that differs from the systems of the Commission's devices, indicating that there is work and efforts to adopt the unified ID card in the upcoming elections if the formed Supreme Committee reaches access to devices that contribute to linking the Commission's devices with the unified ID card devices, with the importance of maintaining data confidentiality, but so far the voter card is approved in the upcoming elections.
Parliament Seats
On the number of parliamentary seats according to the census, Al-Husseini said that "the commission deals with elections in accordance with the law in force, in the event of an increase in the number of seats in parliament, this needs to amend the law by the parliament," noting that "what is produced by the general census of the population is a matter for the legislative authority if it wants to implement it, it must amend the election law."
Regarding the elections abroad, he stressed that "the law in the last amendment canceled the elections abroad, but they have the right to participate inside Iraq."
On the participation of political parties that have armed wings in the elections, he stressed that "legally may not participate in the elections, but there is an armed wing, and there is participation in jihadist work at some time, and this differentiates from that," noting: "We have a periodic inspection of the headquarters of the parties and the search for weapons, whether it is authorized or not, and if it exists, an investigation is conducted with the party, this is what concerns the armed wing, while the jihadist factions of the parties, this is another issue."
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