November elections
Electoral commission brings voter registration to Bedouin communities in Muthanna desert
MUTHANNA — Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission has expanded its voter registration campaign beyond urban centers, reaching nomadic and shepherd families in the Samawa desert and Al-Jazeera area of Al-Warka district in Muthanna governorate ahead of November’s parliamentary elections.
Fadel Salman, an employee at the commission’s Al-Karama subdistrict office, told 964media, “We updated the election records of some nomadic Arab families living between the borders of Muthanna and Diwaniyah, and registered new births from 2006 and 2007, as well as individuals whose data had not been previously updated.”
Salman said the field teams are working to reach “as many nomadic and Bedouin families as possible,” noting that in some cases, residents contact the commission directly, while in others, officials initiate outreach.
“When we learn of a new family settling in the Al-Jazeera area of Al-Warka district who are residents of Muthanna, we go to them directly to register their data,” he said. “The goal is to register and update the data of as many citizens as possible.”
Iraq’s next parliamentary elections are scheduled for Nov. 11, 2025. The electoral commission has also extended the deadline for political coalitions to register their participation until the end of working hours on May 14.
Bedouins in Iraq, known as “Bedu” in Arabic, are nomadic or semi-nomadic Arab tribes traditionally residing in desert regions. They are part of a broader Bedouin culture that spans the Arabian Peninsula, including parts of Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
