Parliamentary elections: Tomorrow is a day of electoral silence, and the commission is preparing for special and general voting.
Parliamentary elections: Tomorrow is a day of electoral silence, and the commission is preparing for special and general voting.
2025-11-07
The electoral process in Iraq will enter a period of electoral silence on Saturday morning, preceding the special and general voting process. The Independent High Electoral Commission confirmed its full readiness to conduct the electoral process in coordination with the relevant security authorities. In a statement, the Commission explained that “the electoral silence period will begin at seven o’clock on Saturday morning and will continue until the end of the general voting process,” noting that “any campaign or promotional activity for candidates or electoral lists during this period is a clear violation of the instructions, and legal measures will be taken against violators.”
The commission also stressed that “the goal of the electoral silence is to create a calm and balanced environment that allows the voter to think freely and choose his representative without influence or electoral propaganda at the last minute,” calling on political entities and media outlets to “fully comply with the rules of electoral silence in order to preserve the integrity of the electoral process and equal opportunities for all.”
While the commission began its preparations for holding the elections early, it started opening voter data update centers throughout the governorates, where the number of voters whose data was updated reached 21 million voters for general and special voting, while the commission approved the final distribution of polling centers and stations in the electoral centers spread throughout the governorates.
The commission also took measures to reduce extremist and hate speech during the electoral process, and conducted three successful trial simulations of election day in polling stations. In addition, it implemented monitoring procedures to prevent the forgery and trading of voter cards and formed monitoring teams to pursue those involved in the trade.
The commission employs mechanisms to verify voters on election day through:
– Live fingerprint
– Biometric card
– Verification device
– Adding a new camera to verify voters whose fingerprints are not visible
Hassan Hadi Zayer, a member of the media team of the Independent High Electoral Commission, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that “the Commission has completed all its technical and logistical preparations for the special and general voting, in preparation for holding the parliamentary elections on their scheduled date.”
He added, “The commission is now closer to carrying out the electoral process on November 9 for special voting and November 11 for general voting, as the centers and warehouses have been prepared and the training of polling staff has been fully completed.” He continued, “The number of polling staff has reached 230,000 employees from state employees, students and graduates, who were trained according to a reverse hierarchical training system, starting from the center coordinators and station managers up to the field staff.” He pointed out that “all sensitive and non-sensitive materials, including cameras and devices, will be distributed 72 hours before election day.”
Zayer also explained that “the warehouses in all governorates are fully secured in coordination with the security forces, and the materials are ready to be transported to the schools that will be used as polling centers.”
He explained that “the security forces will take over the schools first and secure them completely, before they are handed over to the commission, which will begin preparing them with the necessary supplies within the specified timeframe,” noting that “the preparations are proceeding according to the plan without any delay.”
He continued, “The number of special voting centers is 800 centers out of about 8,000 centers throughout the country for general voting. The special voting includes 4,500 stations, while the number of stations for general voting is 39,800 stations.” He explained that “the same centers will be used later for general voting after they have been emptied and re-equipped.”
He also pointed out that “the Commission’s oversight committees will directly monitor the extent to which candidates and entities adhere to the regulations and instructions, and social media platforms will be monitored to prevent any illegal election propaganda during the silence period.”
In the same context, the Joint Operations Command announced that the security plan for the elections is ready for implementation, stressing that security forces will be deployed to secure all polling centers without imposing a curfew or closing roads. Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations and Head of the High Committee for the 2025 House of Representatives Elections, told the official news agency that “the High Security Committee for Elections, since its formation in May by decree, has begun implementing multiple tasks to ensure the electoral process proceeds in a secure and stable manner.” He pointed out that “the High Security Committee has carried out a series of preemptive operations distributed across several axes, including pursuing the remaining remnants of ISIS terrorist gangs, directing precise airstrikes and well-planned ground operations within specific sectors, accompanied by intelligence efforts and precise aerial surveillance, which contributed to achieving qualitative results and great successes.”
He added that “the other focus included monitoring electoral violations, as the intelligence services were able to thwart attempts to tear up campaign posters and sell election cards, as well as confronting hate speech, sectarianism and everything that affects social peace, achieving significant positive results in this regard.”
He also pointed out that “another important focus is the cyber committee, which is concerned with monitoring the technical aspects and protecting the electronic systems of the High Electoral Commission, as well as confronting websites that attempt to harm Iraq, spread malicious rumors, or target the electoral process.”
Regarding the plan after the closing of the ballot boxes, he explained that “all polling stations without exception will be subject to manual counting and sorting procedures and matching the results with the Commission’s electronic devices, and during this stage the security forces will be responsible for strengthening the protection of the centers, the Commission’s offices, warehouses and registration centers.”
He added that “the plan also includes securing the transport of election materials and memory sticks to the designated centers in the governorates, and then to the National Center in Baghdad, under the supervision of authorized staff and strict security protection, while Air Force planes will be used to transport the memory sticks from the distant governorates, and Army helicopters to transport them from the districts and sub-districts to the city centers.”
He stressed that “the security forces have prepared central and local precautions and precise maneuver plans according to the predetermined time stages, to ensure the safe and accurate completion of the transfer process until all materials reach the national center in Baghdad.”
In contrast, the Independent High Electoral Commission called on all candidates and political parties to respect the electoral silence period and to refrain from any media or field activity aimed at election promotion, stressing that “commitment to the law is the basis for the success of the electoral process and ensuring its integrity and transparency.”
It also urged citizens to participate widely in the special and general voting and to actively contribute to consolidating the democratic experience and choosing their representatives freely and responsibly.
The special voting is scheduled to begin on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 7:00 AM.
The number of voters participating in the special voting is estimated at more than 1,313,859 members from various security and military agencies.
The general vote is scheduled to take place after the special vote, starting on the morning of Sunday, November 11, 2025.
Number of eligible and updated voters:
The commission had announced that the number of voters eligible to participate in the upcoming elections exceeds 29 million voters, as the commission stated that the number of registered voters after the biometric update of data reached approximately 21 million, 223 thousand, and 319 voters.
burathanews.com
