CIVICUS discusses civic space and democratic participation in Iraq with Iraqi human rights defender Hasan Ibrahim.
Iraq’s November 2025 parliamentary election took place against a backdrop of severely restricted civic space where meaningful political participation is close to impossible. Civil society activists and journalists face arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance and violent repression from state authorities and militias. Vaguely worded laws enable the prosecution of dissenting voices, while warrantless raids and revenge campaigns against protesters have become routine. In these conditions, elections function as exercises in elite power distribution rather than genuine democratic contests.
