Latest news with #FadhelAl-Gharawi
Shafaq News
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
National IDs: Iraq's plan for voter trust
Shafaq News/ Iraq's main political blocs are proposing the use of national ID cards in the 2025 elections to curb fraud and restore voter confidence, an informed source revealed on Monday. The source told Shafaq News that the State Administration Coalition, a political alliance that includes key Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish parties, support the plan, which targets voters lacking updated biometric cards. National IDs, he explained, are harder to forge and accommodate individuals with unreadable fingerprints. 'Deliberations are set to resume after the Fitr Holiday,' the source clarified, pointing out that the proposal requires amending voter identification rules and has broad political backing. According to the source, the move aims to reinforce trust in the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and improve turnout compared to the 2021 election. Iraq's factions remain divided on broader electoral law amendments amid internal disagreements and fragmented positions. No consensus has been reached on changing the current legal framework. Earlier, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights, also endorsed the ID card proposal, estimating it could double voter participation.
Shafaq News
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraq's 2025 elections: Unified card could boost turnout to 40%
Shafaq News/ Iraq's use of the unified card in the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for October, will help boost voter participation to 40%, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights, said on Wednesday. Current statistics show that 28,079,889 voters are registered with the biometric card. However, several obstacles prevent widespread participation, including over 1.25 million uncollected cards and an estimated one million lost cards, Al-Gharawi stated. "Nearly two million people's fingerprints cannot be read, preventing them from voting with the current biometric system," he added. According to electoral experts and based on this data, Al-Gharawi noted that the actual participation rate using the current biometric system would not exceed 20%. Al-Gharawi proposed adopting the unified national card as the official voting document instead of the biometric card, which has 27,400,000 registered voters, confirming, 'This would provide a more efficient and secure mechanism, boosting actual participation to around 40%.' Addressing the challenges facing the upcoming elections, he affirmed that 'they are still causing political, legal, and technical controversy.' Key concerns reportedly include amending or maintaining the current Election Law, adopting a multiple constituency system, determining the vote-counting method, the resignation of executive candidates, and redistributing parliamentary seats based on the latest population census.
