Baghdad -- Joseph Sliwa, head of the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union (Huyodo Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA) and former member of the Iraqi Parliament, has spoken out after being barred from contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections as a representative of the Chaldean--Syriac--Assyrian community.

In a video statement addressed to the Iraqi public, the Board of Commissioners of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Sliwa outlined the circumstances of his exclusion. He said he had submitted all required documents to run under his party's banner and had been assigned serial number 331 on 9 August 2025, officially confirming his candidacy.

However, on 10 August, the IHEC issued a decision disqualifying him from the race under Article 7 -- a move Sliwa described as both unexpected and shocking.

Sliwa said he filed an appeal against the ruling on 13 August, attaching a criminal record certificate issued by the Criminal Evidence Department that confirmed he has no violations, felonies, or legal restrictions on his record.

He denounced the exclusion as "clear targeting" without legal justification. While emphasizing his respect for Iraqi law, Sliwa argued that what he described as "political targeting" undermines public trust in the electoral process and sends a negative message to the Iraqi public as well as to the historic Chaldean--Syriac--Assyrian community.

He further warned that the decision risks damaging the reputation of the IHEC itself.

Sliwa added that he has published all relevant evidence and documents on his official platforms, stressing the need for candidates to be treated "with transparency and impartiality, rather than through exclusionary measures." He called for a fair and comprehensive investigation into the legality of the decision.

He also cautioned that if what he described as an "unjust" exclusion is allowed to stand, the HBA would be compelled to adopt a stronger and more detailed stance on a range of political issues.

Sliwa was not the only candidate affected by recent rulings. The IHEC has also disqualified several other Chaldean--Syriac--Assyrian candidates, including Issam Behnam Matti Yaqoub, Sargon Lazar Sliwa Koral, Burhan al-Din Ishak Ibrahim, and Dunia Akram Shaba.

The wave of exclusions has sparked sharp criticism from Christian activists, who denounced the decisions as a form of "systematic exclusion" that threatens the political representation of Iraq's Chaldean--Syriac--Assyrian community.