ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Some candidates for Iraq’s parliamentary elections are continuing to bypass the official electoral silence period by promoting themselves on social media, a rights group warned Monday, calling it a “clear violation of electoral rules.” 

Under Iraqi election law, all campaign activities must stop 24 hours before the vote. The country entered electoral silence on Saturday at 7 am (local time), a day before special voting for the parliamentary elections was held. 

Ali al-Nashi, an official at the Al-Tawasul Wa Al-Ekha Human Organization (TEO), a rights group engaged with the United Nations, told The New Region that several candidates have used social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp to post promotional content or indirect messages urging voters to support them. 

“The code of conduct is very clear in banning all campaign activity during the silence period,” Nashi said. “Yet, some candidates are taking advantage of digital apps to spread campaign materials or motivational messages to voters.” 

He described the act as “a clear violation of electoral rules,” noting that monitoring digital platforms is difficult because “they are open spaces that cannot be fully controlled, and it's hard to hold candidates legally responsible for everything posted online.” 

Special voting for the Iraqi elections took place on Sunday, while the general election is scheduled for Tuesday.  

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) reported an 82.4% voter turnout in the special voting for the parliamentary elections, with the Kurdistan Region recording the highest participation rates in the country.

Turnout exceeded 90% in all three Kurdish provinces, 98.1% in Sulaimani, 97.7% in Erbil, and 91.6% in Duhok, while Baghdad registered the lowest rate at 70.3%. More than 1.1 million people cast their ballots across 809 polling centers, according to IHEC data.

The commission stated the process was conducted smoothly and received only four complaints. Security forces coordinated with election authorities to ensure stability and transported election materials by air for the counting process.