Al Jazeera Net correspondents
Published On 8/11/2025
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Last update: 11:53 (Mecca time)
Baghdad- The electoral silence for the Iraqi parliamentary elections will come into effect today, Saturday, November 8, as candidates compete to reserve 320 seats, including 83 seats for the women’s quota distributed across all governorates, including the Kurdistan region.
As the general voting date scheduled for November 11 approaches, which some have described as the most sensitive in light of regional developments and economic challenges, attention is turning to the details of the electoral process, the differences between public and private voting, and the mechanism of electoral silence.
Below, we will clarify through a set of questions the electoral silence and the mechanism of general and private elections according to the Iraqi election system and law.
What does electoral silence mean? What is its purpose?
Electoral silence means stopping media coverage, and not broadcasting any electoral programmes, advertisements or campaigns for candidates participating in the elections, as Electoral Affairs Observer Karim Awad explains to Al Jazeera Net.
Awad added that electoral silence also includes stopping all electoral conferences for candidates and blocs participating in the elections. Its goal is to give voters sufficient opportunity to think about the political figures and blocs they will decide to vote for.
When does electoral silence begin and how long does it last?
Electoral silence in Iraq comes into effect today, Saturday, November 8, 24 hours before the start of voting for the parliamentary elections. According to what was announced by the Independent High Electoral Commission, the electoral silence begins at seven in the morning, and continues for 72 hours, until the last ballot box closes on the day of the general elections at its scheduled time, while special voting begins at seven in the morning tomorrow, Sunday.
Who are the voters included in public and private voting?
Awad explained that general voting includes all citizens who have reached the legal age to vote according to Iraqi law (18 years), while private voting takes place two days before general voting and is designated for specific categories of the Iraqi people, namely the security forces and employees charged with protecting polling stations.
He continued that in public and private voting, voters are subject to all the special controls and procedures that the voter goes through until the voting paper is placed in the box, which is having the electoral ID, checking the voters’ register, receiving the voting paper, marking it, and then putting it in the box.
What are the final numbers of voters included in public and private voting?
The official spokeswoman for the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq, Jumana Al-Ghalai, revealed the final figures for those included in the electoral process, stressing that the statistics reflect a broad voter base that will participate in determining its representatives in Parliament.
Al-Ghalai told Al-Jazeera Net that the number of voters included in the general vote reached 21 million 404 thousand and 291 voters, adding that the number of those included in the special vote reached 1 million 313 thousand and 859 voters.
What is the importance of the private voting process?
Legal expert, Hossam Al-Eidani, confirmed that the “private voting” process is of great importance because it is a necessary preparation for general voting, noting that its success has a “positive and psychological effect” on urging voters to participate widely in the elections.
What is the constitutional basis for the right to vote in Iraq?
Al-Eidani told Al Jazeera Net that the right to vote is guaranteed for everyone under the Iraqi constitution, as Article 20 of the constitution stipulates that “election is a right for every Iraqi,” which also includes the right to run for office.
He continued, highlighting the legal obligations, that the Amended Election Law No. (4) of 2023 required, in Article (22), that security authorities must submit lists of those included in “special voting” to the Election Commission 60 days before the polling date.
The legal expert confirmed that this law required the adoption of the long-term biometric (electronic) card exclusively for voting, which is the card that is withdrawn from voters in the special vote in exchange for a receipt, to be returned to them through their units after the completion of the elections, and this same procedure applies to the voting of the displaced.
Between hopes for government appointment and creating opportunities for young people… Al Jazeera camera surveys the opinions of Iraqi university students about their aspirations for the upcoming parliamentary elections#Aljazeera_correspondents pic.twitter.com/AcBbiJNl5W
– Al Jazeera Channel (@AJArabic) November 2, 2025
What is the mechanism for special voting for security forces?
Saad Al-Rawi, former Deputy Chairman of the Board of Commissioners in the Iraqi Election Commission, confirmed that special voting usually takes place two or three days before the general vote, so that the security authorities can devote themselves to securing the electoral process on the day of general voting.
Al-Rawi pointed out in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that the special ballot paper is different, as it includes the governorate field to direct the security member’s vote to his original governorate to which he belongs, due to the presence of security units that include members from different governorates.