Baghdad: MP Raed al-Maliki confirmed on Wednesday that the number of candidates excluded by the Electoral Commission’s decisions may reach 400. Al-Maliki revealed this information through a tweet on the “X” platform, indicating that the significant increase in exclusions stems from the application of Elections Law No. 12 of 2018, as amended, to the parliamentary elections for the first time. This law, particularly Article (7/3), mandates the exclusion of individuals involved in crimes against honor, financial and administrative corruption, and other activities damaging to reputation. He emphasized that these exclusions are enforced as legal rulings, regardless of whether the individuals are covered by amnesty laws.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, al-Maliki further explained that another reason for the high number of exclusions is the recent enforcement of accountability and justice provisions, which had been overlooked in previous years. The Electoral Commission had already announced the disqualification of several candidates for the 2025 House of Representatives elections. This decision came after investigations confirmed criminal records for offenses such as murder, bribery, forgery, fraud, and cases of financial and administrative corruption.