The 2018 Assyrian elections in Iraq were the first elections since the Islamic State invasion of Iraq, including the Assyrian heartland, the Nineveh Plains in August 2014. A parliamentary election will be held in Iraq on 12 May 2018. Of the 329 seats in the Iraqi parliament, 5 are reserved for the Christian minorities. The five reserved seats are separated one for each governorate of: Baghdad, Duhok, Erbil, Kirkuk and Nineveh.[1] At the time of voting, only about 200,000 Assyrians remained in the country.[2]
Going into the elections, Assyrian Democratic Movement has two seats, Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council has two seats, and one by the Iraqi Communist Party. A total of seven lists comprising 67 candidates will compete for the reserved seats. At the time of elections, the Assyrian community was "divided and messy".[3] For the first time in Iraqi history, a Church has officially backed a list, as Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako openly urged his followers to vote for the 139 list.[3]
In mid-May 2018, the Iraqi Higher Elector Commission released the results showing a surprise win for the Babylon Movement,[4] a newly formed party by the Shia Islamist militant group Hashd al-Shaabi. The results were seen as unexpected by the Assyrian community, as many complained of outright fraud, where most of votes of Babylon Movement came from Shia Arabs tied to Badr Organization.[5]
| Party/list | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon Movement | 33,172 | 2 | 2 | |
| Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council | 20,197 | 1 | 1 | |
| 19,422 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Chaldean List | 16,101 | 1 | 1 | |
| Beth Nahren Union | 10,689 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10,666 | 0 | |||
| Firas Gorgis Aziz | 6,014 | 0 | ||
| Syriac Assembly Movement | 4,312 | 0 | ||
| Total | ||||
| align=left colspan=5 | Source: IHEC | |||
| Candidate | Governorate | List/Party | Votes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aswan Salem Sadeq | Nineveh | Babylon Movement | 19,955 | Brother of Rayan Kildani |
| Baghdad | Al-Rafidain/ADM | 6,079 | Iraq parliament member since 2005, Secretary-General of ADM since 1982 | |
| Rehan Hanna Ayoub | Kirkuk | Popular Council | 5,458 | Lawyer in Zakho |
| Khoshiar Qardakh Yalda | Erbil | Chaldean Coalition | 5,152 | Principal of Ankawa female Secondary School. Member of Chaldean League.[6] |
| Raed Ishaq Matti | Nineveh | Popular Council | 3,617 | Iraq parliament member since 2014 |
| Nineveh | Al-Rafidain/Independent | 3,409 | Iraq Minister of Construction and Housing | |
| Faraj Issa Yaqub | Nineveh | Popular Council | 3,172 | |
| Kirkuk | Al-Rafidain/ADM | 2,675 | Iraqi parliament member since 2010, Deputy Secretary-General of ADM[7] | |
| Najib Sliwa Hido | Nineveh | Chaldean Coalition | 2,637 | |
| Oshana Haziran Hakkari | Duhok | Beth Nahren Union/BNDP | 2,401 | Brother of Romeo Hakkari |
| Hazem Yousif Gorgis | Erbil | Beth Nahren Union/KACP | 2,208 | Lawyer from Ankawa |
| Ghazwan Rizallah Elias | Duhok | Popular Council | 2,196 | |
| Burhan Aldin Ishaq | Baghdad | Babylon Movement | 941 | |
| Duhok | Al-Rafidain/APP | 917 | APP president since 2011[8] | |
| Hikmat Daoud Jaboo | Baghdad | Chaldean Coalition | 893 | Lecturer in Tunis University for 16 years.[9] He unsuccessfully ran for the reserved Kirkuk seat in the 2014 Iraqi parliamentary election |
| Baida Khidhir Behnam | Duhok | Babylon Movement | 833 | |
| Joseph Sylawa Sebi | Erbil | Beth Nahren Union/ICP | 809 | Iraq parliament member since 2014. From Shaqlawa |
| Evan Faiq Yaqub | Duhok | Chaldean Coalition | 782 | |
| Sabah Mikhael Barkho | Nineveh | Beth Nahren Union/BNPU | 782 | President of BNPU. Resides in Australia |
| Faiz Abdul Mikhael | Duhok | Babylon Movement | 765 | |
| Kawher Yohanna Awodish | Erbil | Popular Council | 737 | |
| Souad Marqos Marqos | Duhok | Chaldean Coalition | 720 | |
| Duraid Jameel Isho | Erbil | Babylon Movement | 662 | |
| Duraid Hikmat Tobia | Nineveh | Al-Rafidain/ADM | 662 | |
| Karolin Makradej Hakoob | Kirkuk | Babylon Movement | 640 | |
| Badri Mikhael Warda | Baghdad | Popular Council | 626 | |
| Raed Naser Shaya | Erbil | Babylon Movement | 602 | |
| Raghad Yousif Jibbo | Baghdad | Babylon Movement | 589 | |
| Karolin Adwar Mikho | Kikurk | Popular Council | 473 | |
| Basem Habeeb Estivo | Kikurk | Al-Rafidain/Independent | 437 | Head of Department of Education in Al-Hamdaniya District (2013 - 2017).[10] |
| Adi Assam Wadie | Baghdad | Chaldean Coalition | 415 | |
| Maysoon Jajjo Matti | Duhok | Popular Council | 387 | |
| Faris Sami Yousif | Baghdad | Beth Nahren Union/ICP | 375 | Physical education professor at Baghdad University |
| Aziz Emmanuel Gorgis | Duhok | Beth Nahren Union/BNPU | 360 | A CSAPC member since 2006, Aziz left the party in January 2018 after not being elected to run for the elections |
| Nahla Mansoor Issa | Erbil | Popular Council | 359 | |
| Ashur Yalda Benyamin | Kirkuk | Babylon Movement | 354 | |
| Ibrahim Hanoosh Alias | Kirkuk | Beth Nahren Union/Ind. | 348 | Retired Iraqi Army general from Bartella |
| Kafi Dano Bani | Nineveh | Chaldean Coalition | 337 | |
| Raed Jamal Nashat | Kirkuk | Chaldean Coalition | 335 | |
| Hogir Andraws Yalda | Erbil | Chaldean Coalition | 333 | Elementary math teacher in Erbil, originally from Koya. Member of Chaldean League |
| Fathel Toma Matti | Nineveh | Babylon Movement | 333 | |
| Muna Sarhan Sindo | Baghdad | Al-Rafidain/Independent | 316 | Chemistry professor at University of Baghdad[11] |
| Khalida Sleman Alias | Nineveh | Beth Nahren Union/ICP | 288 | Retired Civil Servant from Karemlash |
| Shamoon Shlemoon Isho | Duhok | Al-Rafidain/ADM | 251 | Member of ADM's council.[12] |
| Blsam Josef Patro | Kirkuk | Chaldean Coalition | 227 | |
| Nithal Toma Oraha | Kirkuk | Beth Nahren Union/ICP | 184 | Resides in Baghdad, originally from Alqosh |
| Dania Rufael Odisho | Baghdad | Popular Council | 173 | |
| Sami Abdalahad Yousif | Baghdad | Beth Nahren Union/BNPU | 161 | Engineer from Bartella |
| Hani Ibrahim Gorial | Erbil | Al-Rafidain/APP | 137 | Has worked within Baghdad's Ministry of Oil since 2006[13] |
| Firjin Hanna Kroomi | Erbil | Al-Rafidain/Independent | 124 | Head of offices within Al-Hamdaniya District department of health (1988-2006)[14] |
| Party | Total votes[15] | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kurdistan Democratic Party* | 38 | ||
| Sons of Mesopotamia | 21 | ||
| Babylon Movement | 8 | ||
| Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council | 4 | ||
| Dr. Firas Aziz Korakis | 4 | ||
| Chaldean Alliance | 2 | ||
| Rafidain List | 2 | ||
| Party | Total votes[16] | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council | 279 | ||
| Kurdistan Democratic Party* | 194 | ||
| Sons of Mesopotamia | 143 | ||
| Chaldean Coalition | 138 | ||
| Rafidain List | 56 | ||
| Babylon Movement | 18 | ||