8 million Iraqis at risk of losing vote as registration deadline nears

Shafaq News/ More than 8 million eligible Iraqi voters remain unregistered ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections scheduled for November 11, the Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq (SCHR) announced on Thursday, r

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) recently extended the deadline for voter registration updates to June 15, as the original cut-off date of May 23 approached with millions yet to complete the mandatory biometric process.

The extension comes as a critical intervention, according to the IHEC's Deputy Head Hazem Al-Rudaini, who praised the move as essential to preserving voter participation. Under Election Law No. 4 of 2023, only citizens holding biometric electoral cards will be allowed to vote.

Al-Rudaini warned that out of Iraq’s 29 million eligible voters—a figure that includes newly eligible citizens born in 2005 and 2006—only 21 million have completed biometric registration to date.

He called for intensified public awareness campaigns and government efforts to facilitate the registration process.