IRAQI ELECTIONS Fact sheets

IRAQI ELECTIONS: Candidate List Regulations

The following are excerpts from Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 96,
THE ELECTORAL LAW.
This Order forms part of the legal framework for genuine and credible elections to
determine the membership of the National Assembly of the Iraqi Transitional Government.

Rules Governing the Formation of Candidate Slates
as set forth in CPA Order Number 96, Section 4

Any Political Entity may present a list of candidates for election to the National Assembly to the Commission so long as the candidates on the list meet the applicable legal criteria.

The lists presented to the Commission must have the candidates in a ranked order. Seats in the National Assembly shall be allocated to candidates according to the ranked order of the list. The candidates on the lists may not be reordered or otherwise changed after a date to be established by the Commission.

No fewer than one out of the first three candidates on the list must be women; no fewer than two out of the first six candidates on the list must be women; and so forth until the end of the list.

No list shall contain fewer than twelve or more than 275 candidates, except that individual persons certified as Political Entities by the Commission may present themselves on a list as a single candidate.

Rules Governing the Allocation of Seats to Candidates
as set forth in CPA Order Number 96, Section 3

The election for the National Assembly shall be by direct, universal and secret ballot.

Consistent with Article 31 of the TAL, elections for the National Assembly will choose 275 members.

Iraq will be a single electoral constituency. All seats in the National Assembly will be allocated among Political Entities through a system of proportional representation.

The formula for the allocation of seats in the National Assembly will be based on a first calculation employing a simple quota (Hare quota) and subsequent calculations employing the largest remainders. The Threshold shall be the natural threshold, which is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes by 275.

 

IRAQI ELECTIONS: Provisions Set Forth in the Transitional Administrative Law

Transitional Administrative Law
Chapter One, Article 2, Section B(2)

"The second phase [of the transitional period] shall begin after the formation of the Iraqi Transitional Government, which will take place after elections for the National Assembly have been held as stipulated in this Law, provided that, if possible, these elections are not delayed beyond 31 December 2004, and, in any event, beyond 31 January 2005. This second phase shall end upon the formation of an Iraqi government pursuant to a permanent constitution."

Criteria for Nomination to National Assembly
as set forth in Chapter Four, Article 31 of the Transitional Administrative Law

He shall be an Iraqi no less than 30 years of age.

He shall not have been a member of the dissolved Ba'ath Party with the rank of Division Member or higher, unless exempted pursuant to the applicable legal rules.

If he was once a member of the dissolved Ba'ath Party with the rank of Full Member, he shall be required to sign a document renouncing the Ba'ath Party and disavowing all of his past links with it before becoming eligible to be a candidate, as well as to swear that he no longer has any dealings or connection with the Ba'ath Party organizations. If it is established in court that he lied or fabricated on this score, he shall lose his seat in the National Assembly.

He shall not have been a member of the former agencies of repression and shall not have contributed to or participated in the persecution of citizens.

He shall not have enriched himself in an illegitimate manner at the expense of the homeland and public finance.

He shall not have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude and shall have a good reputation.

He shall have at least a secondary school diploma, or equivalent.

He shall not be a member of the armed forces at the time of his nomination.


Iraqi Transitional Government Timeline
as set forth in the Transitional Administrative Law

Elections for the National Assembly shall take place no later than by 31 January 2005.

The National Assembly shall elect a President of the State and two Deputies. The election of the Presidency Council shall take place on the basis of a single list and by a two-thirds majority of the members' votes.

The Presidency Council shall name a Prime Minister unanimously, as well as the members of the Council of Ministers upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Presidency Council must agree on a candidate for the post of Prime Minister within two weeks.

The Prime Minister and Council of Ministers shall then seek to obtain a vote of confidence by simple majority from the National Assembly prior to commencing their work as a government.

The National Assembly shall write the draft of the permanent constitution by no later than 15 August 2005.

The draft constitution shall be presented to the Iraqi people for approval in a general referendum to be held no later than 15 October 2005.

The general referendum will be successful and the draft constitution ratified if a majority of the voters in Iraq approve and if two-thirds of the voters in three or more governorates do not reject it.

If the constitution is approved, elections for a permanent government shall be held no later than 15 December 2005 and the new government shall assume office no later than 31 December 2005.

If the constitution is rejected, the National Assembly shall be dissolved and elections for a new National Assembly shall be held no later than 15 December 2005.

If necessary, the president of the National Assembly, with the agreement of a majority of the members' votes, may request to extend the deadline for writing the draft constitution for only six months. This request must be made by 1 August 2005, and the deadline may not be extended again.

IRAQI ELECTIONS: Timeline

May 31, 2004	Coalition Provision Authority (CPA) Order number 92 establishes the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) as the exclusive electoral authority in Iraq.
June 28, 2004	Sovereignty is transferred from the US-led coalition to the Interim Iraqi Government.
August 18, 2004	Iraqi National Conference selects a national assembly to act as a parliament until elections are held.
October 12, 2004	Elections regulations published by IECI.
October 21, 2004	Voter registration materials distributed.
November 1, 2004	Voter and candidate registration begins for the election of a transition government.
November 4, 2004	Determination is made to allow Iraqis abroad to vote in the elections.
November 21, 2004	Election date is set for January 30, 2005.
December 1, 2004	Recruitment of polling station staff begins.
December 15, 2004	Deadline for registering parties and individuals for the coming election. Validation of voter registration list. Election campaign starts.
January 1, 2005	Process of distributing ballots begins.
January 23, 2005	Last day for expatriates to register to vote.
January 28, 2005	Official campaign period ends.
January 30, 2005	Election Day. Last day for expatriates to vote.
August 15, 2005	Date by which a constitution is to be drafted by the transition government.
October 15, 2005	Date by which a national vote is to be held regarding the ratification of the proposed constitution.
December 15, 2005	Date that elections for a permanent government take place if the constitution is ratified. If the constitution is not ratified, this is the date by which elections for a new national assembly are to be held.