Data Collection
The monitoring process of comments and posts was guided by the keywords listed below. The search
was conducted in Arabic and in Kurdish, ensuring that the analysis remains focused, consistent, and
aligned with the core themes. Searches were conducted using terms such as: Iraqi Elections,
Independent High Electoral Commission, IHEC, Iraqi Parliament Elections, Provincial Council Elections,
Early Elections, Election Campaign Iraq, Iraqi Candidates, Voting Centres, Ballot Boxes, Election
Observers, Voter Turnout, Electoral Fraud, Vote Buying, Political Blocs, Iraqi Political Parties, Shiite
Parties, Sunni Parties, Kurdish Parties, Independent Candidates, Government Formation,
Parliamentary Majority, Opposition Bloc, Quota System, Women Quota, Youth Candidates, and
Election Results Iraq.
Data Sample Description
Comments were annotated in Label Studio following a tailored classification process developed
specifically to capture the different forms of TFGBV that happened in discussions around the Iraqi
Parliamentary election in 2025. A shared data annotation process was developed in collaboration with
Jordan Open-Source Association (JOSA), the technical partner on this project. This shared framework
is also intended to underpin the development of a machine learning tool to automate such type of
classification work in the future. For validation purposes, each comment was reviewed manually by a
local researcher and assigned a primary label from a 13-category scheme. The scheme covers neutral
content, disagreement/rejection, and a range of tactics and techniques relevant to TFGBV including
threats and incitement, sexualised and gendered abuse, misinformation and defamation. The analysis
provides a snapshot of how frequently these patterns appear and highlights the principal
conversations and dominant themes in which they are embedded, with an emphasis on recurring
language and framing rather than the behaviour of individual users in order to identify emerging
patterns and trends.
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