ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Iraqi electoral body on Wednesday announced finalizing the approval of the lists of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections, declaring Friday as the first day of the campaigning period.

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said in a statement that the body has approved the nomination of 7,768 candidates, comprising 2,248 females and 5,520 males.

The election campaigning period will continue for 38 days, starting from Friday, October 3, and ending on the morning of November 8, three days before the elections are held, the commission told The New Region.

The commission warned earlier this month that “fines and penalties” will be imposed on candidates who begin campaigning for the November elections before the permitted date.

Last week, the body fined several senior figures, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and former premier Nouri al-Maliki, two million dinars for violating election campaign regulations.

The IHEC has excluded over 600 candidates from various political blocs and parties from the November 2025 parliamentary elections, citing legal and administrative reasons, with the exclusions raising concerns that the electoral body is being used as a political instrument to weaken rivals.

Iraq's parliamentary elections are set to be held on November 11. According to the commission, nearly 30 million Iraqis are eligible to vote, including more than one million who will vote for the first time.