Legal Oversight Mechanisms For Financing Election Campaigns ( An Analytical Study In Iraqi Legislation)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29284/7q5hng28Keywords:
.Abstract
This study deals with the legal and procedural frameworks adopted by the Iraqi legislature to monitor financial expenditures during electoral processes, which are considered a means of peaceful transfer of power. However, its effectiveness is associated to its integrity and equal opportunities among competitors. Political funds forms the greatest challenge to this integrity, as illicit or unregulated money can falsify voters will. Hence the importance of legal oversight and the mechanisms followed by the authority over sources of spending, and this is what forms the importance of studying within the role of oversight to protect the integrity of the electoral fund from the dominance of political funds. The mechanisms of this monitoring were discussed in two topics. The first dealt with the legal system for sources of electoral campaign financing
Topic two is devoted to institutional oversight mechanisms and legal sanctions. The study concluded that the Iraqi legislature, through the election law and the political parties law, imposed strict restrictions prohibiting foreign funding and the use of state resources, while asking political entities to disclose their financial resources and limit expenditures. However, analyses indicate that there is a gap between the legal text and its practical application due to the reliance on cash transactions and the difficulty of tracking indirect sources of financing. This requires strengthening the role of the integrity commission and the financial oversight office alongside the Electoral Commission .
References
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18. See the text of the Third Amendment to the Law on Elections to the Council of Representatives and Provincial and District Councils No. 12 of 2018, No. (4) of 23, Official Gazette of the Republic of Iraq, Issue No. 4718, dated May 8, 2023, Year 64.
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39. See Article 6, which summarizes the oversight of public funds and all financial, economic, and service activities, improving the performance of entities subject to oversight, contributing to combating financial and administrative corruption, and developing the accounting and auditing profession and accounting systems. Article 9 of the Federal Board of Supreme Audit Law No. 31 of 2011 stipulates the Board's authority to access information and examine records.
Article (39) of the Political Parties Law No. 36 of 2015 states, "Political parties are prohibited from receiving funds from any foreign entity (countries, organizations, or individuals)."
40.. See Maysam Yassin Tarish Al-Fariji and Dr. Ali Mashhadi. The Legal Regulation of Prior Political Oversight of Candidates in Elections. Research published in the Journal of the College of Law and Political Science, Iraqia University, Baghdad, No. 28, June 2025, p. 61 et seq.
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44.Political Parties Law No. 36 of 2015
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49.UNAMI website includes monthly and daily reports to the Security Council
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51.International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) directory
52. Website of Venice Committee.
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