With just two weeks remaining until Iraq's parliamentary elections, a lawmaker has sounded the alarm over a flourishing black market for voting cards, a scheme he warns is designed to suppress voter turnout and undermine democratic integrity.

Ahmed al-Jabouri, a member of the Iraqi parliament representing Nineveh province, identified southern Mosul as a particular hotspot for the illicit trade. He reported that the price for a single voting card has surged to approximately 500,000 Iraqi dinars (around $380).

In a disturbing revelation, al-Jabouri clarified that the primary goal of the trade is not to harvest votes for specific candidates, but to destroy the purchased cards, thereby disenfranchising citizens.

“The transaction and purchase of voting cards is to burn them so that people do not participate in the vote,” he explained.

While the parliamentarian did not name the individuals or groups behind the scheme, he issued a strong call to action for security forces to launch an immediate investigation and hold both buyers and sellers accountable.

Al-Jabouri emphasized the severe consequences of such practices, stating, “This dangerous phenomenon will weaken voter participation and affect the representation of southern Mosul in the next parliament.” He expressed concern that the region's voice could be significantly diminished in the national legislature.

To combat the threat, the MP urged clerics, tribal leaders, and intellectuals to help raise public awareness about the issue and the importance of safeguarding their right to vote. He stressed that the buying of voting cards poses a direct and serious threat to the integrity of the electoral process and called on authorities to act swiftly to protect Iraq's democracy.

The elections for the sixth term of the Iraqi parliament are scheduled for November 11, 2025. Nineveh province, the country's second-largest electoral district, is set to contest 34 parliamentary seats, making the integrity of its vote crucial to the national outcome.