Iraq's electoral commission accused of moves to block Assyrian representation
The Iraqi electoral commission is not following the rules when it comes to Assyrian candidates, according to the ADM.
The Board of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) is preparing to bar parties and political forces representing Assyrians from nominating replacement candidates for quota seats, the Secretary-General of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (ADM), Yaqoob Gorgees Yaqo, has warned.
The Assyrian leader voiced concerns in a public statement following recent IHEC decisions disqualifying several candidates running for the quota seats reserved for Assyrians in Iraq’s national parliament, and seemingly not allowing replacements candidates to be registered.
“This stands in clear contradiction to the Board of Commissioners’ Decision No. 8, Special Session Meeting Minutes (46), dated 19 August 2025, which in its first clause explicitly states: ‘Allowing alliances and political parties to replace their candidates in accordance with the decisions of the Board of Commissioners within three days from the date of publishing the decision on the official website of the Commission,’” Yaqo said in the statement.
While the commission claims the barred candidates failed to meet eligibility requirements, many Assyrians suspect that the real motive is political and driven by the Iran-aligned Babylon Brigades militia and its Assyrian leader, Rayan al-Kildani.
A warlord vying for more influence
Quota seats were originally designed to guarantee Assyrian representation in provincial councils as well as federal and regional parliaments. However, under Iraqi election law, anyone – Assyrian or not – may cast their vote for these seats. This loophole has allowed Kurdish political parties, and most recently Iranian-affiliated parties to hijack the system by mobilizing Shia Arab voters behind the Babiliyoun Movement.
This strategy was on full display in Iraq’s 2024 provincial elections, where all four allocated Assyrian seats were won by U.S.-sanctioned militia leader and human rights abuser Rayan al-Kildani. The victories were orchestrated through the Babylon Movement, the political arm of Kataib Babiliyoun (KB), also known as the 50th Brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).
In the lead-up to Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections, al-Kildani appears set to repeat the tactics that enabled him to dominate the Assyrian quota seats in both the 2021 parliamentary and 2023 provincial elections.
The 2021 vote saw the Babylon Movement secure four of the five parliamentary seats reserved for Assyrians, a result marred by allegations of electoral manipulation. Al-Kildani’s success was largely fueled by non-Assyrian votes, delivered through his alliances with Shia militias and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This influx of outside voters sidelined genuine Assyrian political representation – and, critics warn, is poised to happen again.
