More than 100 parties, blocs and independents will contest Iraq’s first free election in decades on Jan. 30, the Independent Electoral Commission said on Thursday.
Updating previous figures, it said 73 single-party lists were registered for the ballot, plus nine multi-party coalitions and 25 individuals running for a seat on their own.
The deadline for registration passed on Wednesday but full details of the candidates will not be published for some days, to allow for final amendments, a Commission spokesman said.
The 275-member National Assembly will oversee the drafting of a constitution over the next year and appoint a government.
U.S.-backed interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi unveiled his candidacy for the elections on Wednesday, with his name at the top of a 200-strong alliance dubbed the Iraqi List, which also includes several ministers from his government.
Interim President Ghazi al-Yawar announced on Thursday that he too he would contest the election.
Strong Shiite candidateThe strongest alliance appears to be one headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), who spent decades in exile in Iran.
With the blessing of Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, it is expected to do well among the long-oppressed Shiite majority, mostly in the south.
Iraq will be treated as a single electoral district. Voters will choose a list and seats will be distributed to candidates on those lists according to the slate’s percentage of the vote.
An election for the autonomous Kurdish parliament in the north will take place on the same day as the nationwide poll, as will elections to local assemblies for each Iraqi province.
The Electoral Commission said 14 parties had registered lists for the Kurdish ballot, in addition to one coalition.
The two main Kurdish parties, the KDP and PUK, which already dominate politics in the north, are expected to run on a joint list in the nationwide election.