🔹 Dirty political money is being used as fuel for election campaigns. This leads to the election of people who view government positions as opportunities to recover their campaign expenses through suspicious or fake contracts. This creates a dangerous cycle: illegally obtained money buys power, and power produces more illegal money.

🔹 Statistics indicate that winning a single parliamentary seat in some provinces costs up to $5 million. This means a list or alliance aiming for 10 seats needs about 50 billion Iraqi dinars. Previously, campaign costs per seat ranged between 750 million to 1.5 billion dinars.

🔹 Financial experts estimate that political blocs and parties will collectively spend about $3 billion on the 2025 elections — the largest campaign expenditure Iraq has ever witnessed.

🔹 Election observers describe ongoing campaigns, especially in major cities, as extravagant and unnecessary, with tens of thousands of banners, posters, and photos covering streets and even cemeteries.

🔹 The spending limit for strong candidates often exceeds $1 million, while mid-level candidates spend several hundred thousand dollars, and weaker ones around ten thousand dollars.

🔹 The excessive and chaotic budgets of many lists and blocs often originate from:

• Illegal sources, such as fake contracts and oil smuggling revenues,

• Corrupt commercial networks, or

• Foreign regional funding is tied to political or economic agendas.

🔹 The question remains: What is the real value of elections that offer no hope for change, dominated by large parties that divide everything among themselves under the so-called “quota system”?

Where Does the Campaign Money Come From?

Economic analysts suggest that total spending by political blocs, coalitions, and candidates across various stages of the 2025 election campaign — up to the end of October — has surpassed 4 trillion Iraqi dinars.

Observers note that campaign extravagance extends to large rallies, tribal gatherings, and concerts with gift distributions, alongside traditional posters and billboards. These expenses, often without limits, have raised pressing questions from politicians and researchers alike:

Where is this money coming from, and how are these political groups funding their campaigns?

While no official answers have been provided, leaked information and insider remarks reveal several main sources of funding:

• Money from ministries and state institutions controlled by certain parties,

• Funds diverted from senior administrative posts or regional governments,

• Budget allocations from public projects or foreign aid programs are channeled through party-linked offices.

Lack of Transparency and Accountability

According to economist Ali Muslim, Iraq still lacks an effective financial disclosure system, making it “one of the region’s highest spenders and least transparent states.”
He warns that the absence of accountability not only undermines the integrity of elections but also erodes citizens’ trust in state institutions.

Muslim adds:

“The same scenario repeats before every election: massive spending during campaigns, followed by an economic slowdown afterward.”

He stresses that without a strict campaign finance law, Iraq faces growing financial risks that could prolong its economic crisis indefinitely.

Legal Framework and Weak Oversight

Although Iraqi election law (Law No. 9 of 2020) and the Law on Political Parties require candidates to declare their funding sources, practical monitoring is almost nonexistent.
The Independent High Electoral Commission, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Integrity Commission, and the Board of Supreme Audit all operate without proper coordination or a unified information system, preventing effective tracking of money flows.

Under Article 4(3) of the Anti-Money Laundering Law (Law No. 39 of 2015), the office is responsible for investigating suspicious financial transactions related to money laundering, terrorism financing, or other financial crimes.
However, no public data has been released so far regarding the money circulating in the election campaigns, making it, in experts’ words, “one of the murkiest files in Iraq’s financial and political landscape.”

Sunni Lists Lead in Campaign Spending

Reports indicate that Sunni blocs top the list of big spenders, relying heavily on tribal and family networks and region-based funding. Shiite blocs, particularly those in Baghdad, follow behind.

In a televised interview, Yazan Mishaan al-Jubouri, head of the “Our Hawks” alliance, revealed that securing a single parliamentary seat costs about 5 billion dinars, meaning a 10-seat target requires 50 billion dinars. He added that costs previously ranged from 750 million to 1.5 billion dinars per seat, depending on local political and social conditions.

His father, Mishaan al-Jubouri, a veteran Sunni politician from Salahuddin, estimated the current cost per seat at 10 billion dinars, describing the upcoming elections as “the most corrupt in Iraq’s modern history.”

A candidate from Anbar, speaking anonymously, confirmed that spending for strong candidates often exceeds $1 million, while weaker ones spend only a few thousand dollars, with much of the money provided directly by political parties.

Economist Manar al-Ubaidi estimates total real campaign spending to be between 3 and 4 trillion dinars, possibly higher due to the lack of official financial data.
He concludes:

“The financial dimension of Iraq’s election campaigns has slipped out of control. Funds are being spent without transparency or oversight, and the responsible authorities operate in silos without coordination.”

As a result, Iraq’s elections have become a multi-billion-dollar competition funded by opaque money, reinforcing corruption rather than democracy.
 

Source: Report by NIRIJ Network