Judicial commission bars former Nineveh Governor from parliament
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Judicial Commission for Elections removed winning candidate and former Nineveh Governor Najm Al-Jubouri from the newly elected 329-seat Iraqi Parliament, a source told Shafaq News on Sunday.
According to the source, the Commission excluded Al-Jubouri from the electoral process, citing his military service, which fell under Accountability and Justice Procedures, and his failure to meet certain good-conduct requirements. It also directed the electoral body to enforce the ruling, removing him from the current list of winners.
Al-Jubouri had entered the 2025 parliamentary race under the Ninawa Li Ahliha (Nineveh for Its People) bloc. He posted a strong electoral showing, gathering more than 39,000 votes — the highest individual count on his list, which had secured three seats and is aligned with Al-Hasm al-Watani (Determination), led by Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi.
As a result of Al-Jubouri’s exclusion, the Nineveh for Its People list lost one of its three seats, which was subsequently reallocated to Al Mashrou' Al Arabi Fi al-Iraq (The Arabic Project in Iraq), giving it two seats. The updated seat distribution in Nineveh now stands as follows: the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) with five seats; Taqaddum and Al-Ima’ar Wal Tanmiya (Reconstruction and Development) with four each; the Al-Azm Alliance (Tahaluf Azm al-Iraq) with three; Al-Hasm al-Watani (Determination) and Badr with two each; the Al-Siyada (Sovereignty) Alliance with two; and the Kurdistan National Union also with two.
Last week, Al-Jubouri joined the Sunni Progress (Taqaddum) Party, headed by former parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, which secured 27 seats nationwide and emerged as the strongest Sunni bloc. Political sources conveyed to Shafaq News that Al-Jubouri made the switch after receiving what they described as firm assurances from Al-Halbousi of being nominated for the Defense Ministry in the next cabinet.
Notably, the Judicial Commission for Elections had previously accepted an appeal lodged by Al-Jubouri, overturning his earlier disqualification from the 2025 parliamentary elections. The decision, signed by the Head of the Commission, Judge Hassan Fouad, reversed a former ruling that had barred Al-Jubouri from running due to his past military roles in the banned Baath Party.
