Over 7,700 Candidates Compete for 329 Parliamentary Seats in Iraq

Iraqi parliament's media office

Iraqi Parliament.

On Sunday, 9 November 2025, special voting of security forces and IDPs began across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for the sixth term of the Iraqi Parliament — the country’s highest legislative and oversight authority.

A total of 7,743 candidates are competing for 329 parliamentary seats, with 2,247 women and 5,496 men contesting the elections.

In the Kurdistan Region, 270,000 voters are eligible to participate in the special voting process, which is being conducted in 204 polling centres comprising 958 polling stations. The voting is being closely monitored by both local and international election observers. Across Iraq, 1,313,980 voters are eligible to take part in the special voting.

During the fifth parliamentary term, held on 10 October 2021, 329 candidates from various political parties won seats, forming the legislative body within 25 standing committees and several sub-committees.

The general voting for the sixth term of the parliament is scheduled for 11 November 2025. According to Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), the total number of voters in the Kurdistan Region stands at 20,063,733. In Iraq as a whole, there are 29,262,588 registered voters, of whom 21,404,291 citizens possess biometric voter cards, making them eligible to participate in the electoral process — equivalent to 73% of the total electorate.

Nationwide, there are 8,703 polling centres and 39,285 general polling stations, in addition to 809 special polling centres comprising 4,501 special polling stations.

The Iraqi Parliament — the country’s supreme legislative and oversight institution — is elected every four years through a free and direct process. It is tasked with enacting legislation, overseeing state institutions, approving the national budget, ratifying international agreements, electing the President, and monitoring the executive branch to ensure adherence to the law and the advancement of Iraq’s national interests.



PUKMEDIA