ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's electoral body announced on Wednesday that it disqualified four candidates from taking part in the November legislative vote and levied financial punishments on eight others for violating its rules and regulations, as the election campaigning intensifies.
The disqualified candidates include Hussein Saeed in the Reconstruction and Development list (Al-Ima’ar wal-Tanmiya), headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in Baghdad, Iman Khamis Shahab, in the Tafawuq coalition, led by Ibrahim Namis in Anbar, as well as Ibrahim Hadi, from the Badr Organization list in Babil, and Taha Khuzair in the National Alliance list in the Iraqi capital city, according a statement from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).
The four have been disqualified on charges of misconduct, submitting counterfeit diplomas when fielding candidacy, and hate speech, the statement added.
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The elections body has financially punished another eight candidates, ranging from 2,000,000 to 10,000,000 million dinars, on charges of breaching the IHEC's electoral campaigning instructions.
The IHEC, in the meantime, said Wednesday that it was in the "final stage of preparation" for the November vote as coordination is underway with Baghdad’s education ministry for the handover of schools to be used as polling stations.
The November 11 ballot marks Iraq’s sixth legislative election since the 2003 ouster of the Baath regime.
According to IHEC, 31 alliances, 38 parties, 23 independent candidates, and 56 quota candidates will compete for 329 parliamentary seats, including nine reserved for minorities.