Christian quota results
According to the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC)'s preliminary results released this evening, Sami Oshana (Duhok, Christian, Independent) garnered 22,836 votes; in Arba'ilo (Erbil), Keldo Ramzi (Christian, Independent) received 18,472 votes; and in Kerkeslokh (Kirkuk), Imad Youkhana (Christian, Independent) won 17,602 votes.
The Christian quota seat in Baghdad went to Evan Jabro and the Nineveh Christian quota seat went to Aswan Kaldani. This means the Shia-backed Babylon Movement in Iraqi parliament will be halved.
Special votes
Election observers in Arba'ilo and Baghdad reported that the KDP directed more than 40,000 special votes toward these Christian quota seats -- three for the Christian quotas in Arba'ilo, Nohadra, and Kerkeslohk, and one for the Fayli quota in Wasit. These special votes mostly come from police officers, civil servants, and soldiers serving in KDP-dominated government agencies. The KDP is also expected to secure two more seats through Khalid Sido (Yezidi) and Haidar Fayli (Fayli Kurd). This brings the party's total special voting bloc to around 125,000 ballots, a sharp rise from the roughly 15,000 votes it mobilized for quota candidates in 2024. By contrast, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) directed about 12,000 votes in that cycle.
This trend has sparked concern that dominant Kurdish parties -- and Shia parties as well -- are using their larger voter bases to control minority seats, effectively turning positions meant to empower vulnerable communities into political instruments of the powerful.
Government Crackdown and US Involvement
The elections come amid a series of sweeping measures by Baghdad to tighten control over the political landscape. The government recently barred six factions labeled as "terrorist organizations" by the United States, preventing them from contesting the elections and taking part in government. Some welcomed the move as a step toward cleaner politics, others viewed it as evidence of growing American influence in Iraqi affairs.
Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Al-Hadath TV that, "the US side has designated several Iraqi factions as terrorist entities, and it is only natural that this classification be taken into account in the upcoming political process." He added that Iraq seeks "balanced and stable relations with the international community, free from any entities bearing an armed character outside the authority of the state."
In Washington, US Special Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya -- an American of Assyrian descent -- praised Iraq's progress on social media, writing:
Iraq's future looks bright thanks to its talented and vibrant people -- the most valuable resource any nation has. As the country prepares for a pivotal moment in its democratic process, let's maintain the momentum. The United States stands with Iraq as it moves forward: strong, independent, and free from foreign-backed militias.
Yet for Iraq's Assyrian Christian community, optimism has given way to disillusionment and anger.
The HBA Boycott: Protest Against "Systematic Elimination"
The HBA, one of Iraq's most enduring Christian political parties, has declared a total boycott of the elections. In a scathing statement, the HBA accused the authorities and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) of "deliberate manipulation and selective exclusion" of its candidates.
According to the party, its representatives were approached with an "electoral deal" on 8 August 2025, at a mansion in Baghdad's Al-Mansour district. The offer, allegedly brokered by "internationally blacklisted figures," promised the HBA the Christian quota seat for Baghdad in exchange for adopting "a political course that serves foreign agendas contrary to national and human values."
The HBA says it rejected the deal outright, calling acceptance "a betrayal of the people's will." In retaliation, it claims, several of its candidates were illegally excluded from the race.
In Nineveh and Baghdad, multiple Christian candidates were disqualified, including Issam Behnam Matti, the former district mayor of Baghdede (Qaraqosh), who was barred for "technical reasons." The IHEC claimed his documents could not be processed because forms were "sent abroad for printing" -- an explanation dismissed by party officials as "absurd."
Although the Federal Cassation Court later ruled the exclusions unlawful, the commission reportedly refused to reinstate the candidates. "That is a blatant disregard for judicial authority," said Yousef Yaqoub Matti, senior member of the Bethnahrin National Council (Mawtbo Umthoyo d'Bethnahrin, MUB) and former HBA president. "In any democracy, failure to implement a court order carries both legal and moral consequences."
In a detailed interview, Matti described a "corruption of meaning" within Iraq's quota system. "The quota for our Assyrian people was a constitutional right established in 2005," he said. "It was the result of decades of struggle and a symbol of recognition in the new federal, democratic Iraq. Yet over time, that right was stripped of its essence and turned into a tool of manipulation."
He recalled how Parliament's decision to redefine the community's seats as representing the "Christian component" erased their ethnic identity. "That change reduced a national identity to a religious label," Matti said. "We are not merely a faith community, we are an indigenous people of this land."
He accused major Kurdish and Shia parties of exploiting the quota system to install proxy candidates. "This practice destroyed the meaning of the quota," he said. "Representation became a façade managed by the major blocs."
Matti also cited the case of Joseph Sliwa, current HBA president, who was reportedly accused of a criminal conviction and barred from running in the election. "They claimed there was a court ruling, but when we asked to see it -- nothing existed," he said. "If such a verdict truly exists, the law requires an official copy from the issuing court. Otherwise, this is not law -- it's politics disguised as law."
Silence is Not Surrender
For Matti, the boycott is an act of protest, not resignation. "When every legal and political door is closed, abstaining becomes an act of resistance," he said. "It's like a child withdrawing in silence after repeated mistreatment."
Four Assyrian parties have joined the boycott, though some (former) members are running independently. "We cannot forbid anyone from exercising their constitutional rights," Matti noted. "But as institutions, we cannot legitimize an electoral process that marginalizes our people."
The party has appealed to international bodies, including the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), warning that the erosion of authentic minority representation undermines Iraq's democracy. "True democracy is measured by how it protects its minorities," Matti said. "When that pillar collapses, what remains is democracy in name only."
These developments -- government crackdowns on armed factions alongside minority exclusion -- have thrown Iraq's democratic credibility into question.
"Our national rights are rooted in both the constitution and history," Matti concluded. "Political crises will pass, but the Assyrian presence in Iraq runs deeper than any election cycle. We will continue to work for reform -- inside or outside parliament."
As Iraq heads to the polls, the absence of the HBA and its allies will cast a long shadow over the credibility of the vote. For many in the community, the boycott is both lament and warning -- a signal that Iraq's fragile democracy still struggles to hear the voices of those it was meant to empower.
"When your constitutional rights are taken away, when even your vote no longer carries meaning, then participation becomes meaningless," Matti stated. "But silence is not surrender. Spread the truth. Every Assyrian, in the homeland or abroad, has a role to play."
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