National security denies arrests over recent vote-buying allegations

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s National Security Service on Sunday denied reports circulating on social media alleging the arrest of individuals accused of buying votes for a candidate of parliament.

“These claims are baseless,” said Arshad Al-Hakim, spokesperson for the agency, in a statement.

Al-Hakim urged the public to rely on official sources for information and warned against spreading false or misleading news. He added that the agency “will take legal action against anyone who harms the reputation of its security institutions.”

Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections are scheduled for Nov. 11, 2025.

Earlier this month, National Security Service arrested 46 people accused of buying and selling voter identification cards and seized 1,841 cards during operations across three governorates.

In late-August, Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission said it arrested a parliamentary election candidate and four of his aides in Baghdad on charges of buying voter cards in exchange for promises of government jobs or social welfare stipends.

Earlier this year, Iraqi security forces in Nineveh arrested a man accused of trafficking more than 1,100 voter ID cards. The judiciary said the suspect confessed to purchasing the cards from various areas “to resell them to certain candidates as the elections approached, at higher prices, treating the scheme as a business.”