2025-11-03T11:08:52+00:00
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Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s parliamentary
elections, scheduled for November 2025, will be held under the amended Election
Law No. 9 of 2020, which restores the Sainte-Laguë formula and larger electoral
districts—a move widely seen as favoring established political blocs over
independents.
The March 2023
amendments reversed earlier reforms that had divided provinces into multiple
smaller districts and briefly opened space for independent candidates. Those
2021 reforms had enabled a surge of new political movements and unaffiliated
contenders to win unprecedented representation in parliament.
Under the reinstated
system, votes will again be counted using the Sainte-Laguë method, with a key
modification: the first divisor is set at 1.7 instead of 1.0. This adjustment
raises the vote threshold for the first seat in each district, giving a clear
advantage to larger lists. Combined with the return to closed party lists, the
change effectively narrows the path for independents and civic candidates who
had gained ground in 2021.
Supporters of the
amendment, including leaders within the Shiite Coordination Framework alliance,
argue that the new law will enhance political cohesion and stabilize
governance. Critics counter that it undermines voter choice and reverses one of
Iraq’s few post-2019 protest-driven reforms.
In February 2024,
Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court issued a ruling requiring elections in the
Kurdistan Region to be held across four constituencies instead of a single
regional district. Parliament later aligned the national election law with that
decision, reshaping the electoral map in the north.
The Independent High
Electoral Commission (IHEC) has begun preparing logistical frameworks and
updating voter rolls under the amended structure. Legal changes have also
expanded its authority to implement the formula and monitor compliance with
gender and minority quotas.
Inside Iraq’s
Electoral Mechanics
Each province
functions as a single electoral district. Seat allocation follows the modified
Sainte-Laguë formula, beginning with a divisor of 1.7. The total number of
valid votes in the province is divided by its allocated seats to determine the
electoral quotient—the number of votes required for one seat. Seats are then
distributed proportionally among political lists, with candidates holding the
highest personal vote totals receiving the seats first.
Once the quotient is
established, the highest-voted candidates within each successful list take the
available seats.
At least 25% of
parliamentary seats are reserved for women. If direct voting falls short of
that quota, the next-highest female candidates are elevated to meet it.
Nine seats are
reserved—five for Christians and one each for Yazidis, Shabaks, Mandaeans, and
Feyli Kurds.
The higher divisor
functions as a “soft threshold,” slowing smaller parties without fully
excluding them. By requiring more votes for the first seat, the method reduces
fragmentation and rewards cohesive blocs while keeping proportionality intact
through subsequent divisors (3, 5, 7, etc.).
Minority candidates
compete nationwide rather than within provincial lists. Any voter may cast a
ballot for them, and the candidate with the most votes in each category wins.
Critics argue this system allows dominant sectarian parties to influence
minority outcomes and have urged reforms limiting voting on quota seats to
members of those communities.
Read more: Iraq’s 2025 Parliamentary Elections — What You Need to Know
Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.
