For Immediate Release
January 24, 2005

256 Iraqi Political Entities Compete in Election
Fact of the Day

Iraqis have demonstrated a widespread enthusiasm for the political process of the Jan. 30 elections. In total, 18,900 candidates have registered to compete. These candidates comprise 256 political entities on the ballots - 196 parties, 33 coalitions of parties and 27 individuals. The election will be conducted based on a closed list proportional representation system with the entire country considered as a single electoral district.

Source: U.S. Department of State