2025 elections: 9M Iraqis barred from voting

Shafaq News/ Nearly nine million Iraqis are unable to vote in the upcoming 2025 parliamentary elections, the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq said on Saturday.

Hazem al-Rudaini, the center’s deputy director, noted that the total number of eligible voters—including those born in 2007 who recently reached voting age—stands at 29.1 million. However, only around 20 million have completed biometric registration, a legal requirement to cast a ballot in the October 11 elections.

“This leaves roughly 9 million Iraqis without the right to vote,” he explained, urging the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to extend the registration deadline by another month to allow more citizens to update their data. He also called for a nationwide awareness campaign involving the government, media, and civil society groups.

The commission had opened biometric registration on March 25 for one month, with the current deadline set to end on April 24.