Gender Quotas Database
Iraq
Western Asia
Single / Lower House
Council of Representatives of Iraq
| Total seats | 325 |
| Total women | 95 |
| Percentage of women | 29% |
| Election year | 2021 |
| Electoral system | SNTV |
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Constitution |
Fourth. The elections law shall aim to achieve a percentage of representation for women of not less than one-quarter of the members of the Council of Representatives. (Article 49) |
| Electoral law |
Third. A. The percentage of women candidates should not be less than 25% from the open list. ... C. The percentage of women representation should not be less than 25% from the number of members of Council of Representatives of Iraq. (Article 9) |
|
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law |
Third. If the vacant seat was filled by a woman, then another woman from the same electoral list should replace her. (Article 8) Third. B: With regards to the open list, a woman shall place after each three men. … F: If the gender quota was fulfilled for each electoral constituency according to the electoral results, then no substitution process shall take place. (Article 9) |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No data | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No data | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Quota at the Sub-National Level
| Quota type | Reserved seats |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Reserved seats | Electoral law |
Third. D. The percentage of women representation should not be less than 25% from the number of members of governorate councils in each governorate. (Article 9) |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official Name | Details, Quota provisions |
|---|---|---|
| No data available. | ||
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional information
In the 2010 elections, only 5 of the 86 female lawmakers actually obtained enough votes to win seats without the quota regulation. The remaining 81 women, although not elected directly, were included in the final seat allocation based on the quota requirements.
In the 2018 elections, nearly 2600 women ran for office according to several news articles. The candidacy of some women was contriversial and norm breaking from some perspectives, approaching a more 'women-conscious' society. The gender quota of a miminum 25 % of women was reached.
Sources
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Iraq on iKNOW Politics
- Chirillo, G. & Roddey C. 2019. "Gender Analysis of Iraq’s Electoral and Political Process", International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Published October 2019.
- Fowler, C. 2018 "As More Women Run For Office In Iraq, Are Gender Quotas Producing Their Expected Result?", Our Secure Future: Women make the difference, Published 4 June 2018
- Iraq Education and Training News. March 31 2018. Gender Mainstreaming in Iraq's Elections. [Last Accessed 2022-03-14]
- Scott, K. & Saifi, Z. 2018. "Iraq Elections: What role will gender quotas play?", CNN, Published 11 May 2018, Accessed 26 September 2018
- Ballington, J. & Dahlerup, D. 2006. 'Gender quotas in post-conflict states: East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq', in Dahlerup, D. Women, Quotas and Politics, London/New York: Routledge, pp. 249-258.
- Coalition Provisional Authority. Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the transitional period.
- Dahlerup, D. & Nordlund, A. 2004. ‘Gender Quotas: A key to Equality? A Case Study of Iraq and Afghanistan’, European Political Science, 3, 3: 91–8.
- Nordlund, A. 2004. ‘Demands for Electoral Gender Quotas in Afghanistan and Iraq’, The Research Program on Gender Quotas, Working Paper Series 2004: 2, Stockholm University: Department of Political Science.
- Samuels, K. & Einsiedel, S.v. 2004. The Future of UN State-Building: Strategic and Operational Challenges and the Legacy of Iraq. Policy Report, New York: International Peace Institute.
- Women for a Free Iraq, 2003. ‘The heartland of Iraq Womens Conference’, Preliminary Report, Hilla: University of Babylon.
- Iraq Parliament website, http://ar.parliament.iq/
Explore more resources: Asia | Global
Know about useful additional reading for Iraq? Tell us!
Submit feedback
Submit questions or comments about the Data or Tool
How did you find out about this? What do you like about it? What did you expect but did not find in using the Data or Tool?
To see how we handle your personal data, please read our Privacy Policy.
