ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Contestants in Iraq’s upcoming November legislative elections have spent more than $1.4 million on political post sponsorships across Meta platforms in Iraq within just 30 days, according to data from the technology company. Baghdad recorded the highest spending, while the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Halabja province saw the lowest.
Between September 24 and October 23, 2025, Iraqi political parties and individuals collectively spent $1,424,963 on paid election advertisements across Meta’s platforms - Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Nearly a third of that amount, $473,713, was spent during the final campaign week, from October 17 to 23, as candidates ramped up their voter outreach.
The al-Hoquq Movement - a parliamentary bloc affiliated with the Iran-aligned Kata’ib Hezbollah - topped the list, spending more than $13,500 on political promotions. The bloc’s head, Hussein Mounis, told Rudaw on Sunday that while social media is “an important tool for communication,” in-person campaigning remains their top priority.
“Visits are first place for us,” Mounis said. “We are in direct contact with people - whether through visits or social media - to understand their hardships and listen to their opinions.”
Other major spenders included the Facebook page of Mahmoud Hussein, the lead candidate of the Sunni Arab Azm Front in Baghdad, which spent $12,611.
The Hoquq Movement’s page dedicated to the southern province of Basra recorded $12,577 in spending, while the Suqurna Alliance - led by Sunni Arab politician and lawmaker Mashan al-Jabouri - had its main and media pages each spend around $10,800.
Former Premier Nouri al-Maliki’s official page ranked eighth with $8,502, while the Sadiqoun Bloc - Basra page - affiliated with the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq armed group led by Qais al-Khazali - ranked tenth with $7,020
Baghdad tops spending
At the provincial level, advertisements targeting Baghdad saw total spending of $342,573, followed by the northern Nineveh province $120,574, the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province $81,458 and Basra $80,238.
The lowest spending was recorded in the Kurdistan Region’s Halabja province, where only $3,961 was spent.
Nonetheless, Amanj Ali, CEO of Click Iraq, a technology company operating across the Kurdistan Region, told Rudaw that social media use in electoral campaigning in Iraq and the Region “remains relatively limited.”
“It is not yet an established part of campaign culture here, though activity intensifies in the final days before elections,” he explained.
Ali added that among Meta’s platforms, Facebook continues to dominate as the primary platform for political campaigning due to its news-style interface and broader reach compared to other platforms.
KDP, PUK top Kurdistan spending
In the Kurdistan Region, data shows that candidates from the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) were the biggest online spenders.
Bnas Doski, a KDP candidate from the Region’s northern Duhok province, led regional spending with $5,803, followed by Briar Rashid, a PUK candidate from Sulaimani, who spent $2,561.
Other candidates from both parties generally spent less than $1,500, leaving a smaller digital footprint compared to campaigners in central and southern Iraq.
Meanwhile, KDP candidate Bakr Abdullah told Rudaw that social media is “a core part” of his campaign strategy, allocating around 35 percent of his total campaign budget to online promotion. PUK’s Rashid noted that while face-to-face campaigning remains his priority, “social media is one of the key tools to reach voters.”
Electoral body urges transparency
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) met with Meta on Wednesday to request detailed data on campaign financing and to distinguish between authentic and fake candidate accounts.
Bilal Akram, IHEC’s media and public relations director, told Rudaw that the meeting focused on ensuring transparency in online campaign spending.
“We requested statistics about candidates’ social media expenditures and asked for a clear distinction between real and fake accounts,” Akram said.
The surge in political ad spending in Iraq comes as other regions tighten restrictions.
In July 2025, Meta announced that it would halt political ad sales in Europe from October 2025, following new EU regulations requiring transparency on sponsorship and data targeting.
While the European Union is seemingly moving toward stricter oversight, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region currently lack regulations governing online campaign advertising - leaving digital spending largely unchecked.
Zaniyar Bahadin contributed reporting.