Iraq Needs Legal Change Before National ID Cards Can Replace Biometric Voter Cards

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission says parliament must amend the election law before the unified national identity card can replace the biometric voter card at polling stations.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi issued the directive on Tuesday while chairing a joint meeting of the Interior Ministry and IHEC, attended by senior election officials, ministry officials and the director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. His office said he instructed the Interior Ministry to give the commission the data and information needed to prepare for the change. The government says the national card could simplify voting procedures and improve the accuracy of electoral data.

IHEC spokesperson Jumana al-Ghalai told 964media the commission is ready to make the change but cannot act under the current text. “The Electoral Commission expressed its readiness, but the biometric card is stipulated by law in the amended Election Law No. 12 of 2018, so the legal provision must be amended in order to adopt the unified national card,” she said. Al-Ghalai described the meeting as an initial step, with further discussions to be held with the Interior Ministry.

IHEC has treated the biometric card as its main safeguard against duplicate voting. Ahead of the November 2025 parliamentary election, the commission said the card used a three-way check matching the card, the data stored on it and the voter’s fingerprints and photograph. A card used at a polling centre was automatically disabled for 72 hours to prevent reuse. The commission updated the voter registry and accelerated card distribution in the weeks before that vote.

IHEC judged the system secure enough to drop indelible ink for the 2025 election, saying fingerprint matching, real-time biometric photographs and electronic verification were sufficient to stop repeat voting. It also warned that buying or selling a biometric card remained an electoral crime even though the card cannot be used without the registered voter present.

Biometric registration is still running. In April the commission opened registration at 1,079 centres nationwide, collecting 10 fingerprints and a photograph from each voter and adding citizens born in 2008 to the database. IHEC had completed a nationwide registration campaign the previous year.

Sources: 964media

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team