Tearing down election posters is punishable by imprisonment, fine under Iraq election law

Competition becomes sometimes so fierce that political billboards and posters in public spaces have been torn apart. 
Electoral campaign posters are hanged in one of the streets in Iraq's capital Baghdad, May 8, 2018. (Photo: Sabah Arar/AFP)
Electoral campaign posters are hanged in one of the streets in Iraq's capital Baghdad, May 8, 2018. (Photo: Sabah Arar/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Anyone caught removing, tearing down, or vandalizing election campaign billboards could face imprisonment or a fine, or both under Iraq's election law. 

As Iraq's parliamentary elections in October nears, candidates are scrambling to win enough votes to get into parliament. Competition becomes sometimes so fierce that political billboards and posters in public spaces have been torn apart. 

Most of the time, the perpetrators of such vandalism are not apprehended. Nevertheless, candidates accuse their rivals' followers of complicity.

Under Article 35 of the election law, anyone caught ripping apart or vandalizing an electoral candidate's billboard could be punished with imprisonment for at least a month but no longer than a year, Joumana Ghalad, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told a press conference on Wednesday.

The law also allows judges to fine offenders with no less than a million Iraqi dinar but no more than five million. Also, both punishments could be applied simultaneously, Ghalad explained.

Electoral candidates face physical and verbal attacks intended to pressure them into withdrawing their candidacies. 

"In case a candidate attacks another one, or if someone attacks a candidate, the case will be referred to a special court," said Ghalad. 

Recently, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) announced that it is working with civil society groups to report politically motivated attacks, gender-based violence, and hate speech against women running in Iraq's elections.

Read More: UNAMI monitors hate speech against female candidates in Iraq's elections

In October, over 3,000 candidates will vie for 329 parliamentary seats.