Baghdad Adviser to the Prime Minister for Elections Affairs, Hussein Al-Hindawi, reiterated the government’s commitment to holding the elections on the scheduled date on the tenth of next October, considering the calls to postpone the election date do not constitute a binding obstacle for the concerned government authorities to take them.
Al-Hindawi said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that “the election date for next October 10 is in place and there is no intention to postpone, as all technical, logistical and legal preparations are proceeding according to their timing correctly.” He pointed out that “the withdrawal of some political forces from the electoral race is a natural matter that does not entail any legal or technical consequences towards canceling or postponing the elections.”
He added, “A number of political blocs have submitted proposals to amend the new electoral law, but we can summarize the requests for amendment in two main axes, the first of which is the adoption of the biometric card exclusively, and the other is the candidate’s age and educational certificate.”
He explained, “It is not possible to hold elections while the parliament continues to function, as Article 64 of the constitution regulates the process of dissolving parliament and holding elections,” noting that “there are many proposals that push towards postponing the elections and proceeding to complete the current session within its constitutionally defined period in the middle of the year 2022, and therefore Parliament has the constitutional right to dissolve itself, now or at a later time.”
Regarding the voting mechanism in the electoral process, he explained that “special voting (security forces, prisoners and patients in hospitals) will be via the biometric card exclusively, while general voting, according to the new electoral law, confirms the priority of the biometric card with the adoption of the electronic card, and the commission’s obligation to provide the majority of voters with the biometric card.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency