Iraqis voted on Tuesday, November 11 to elect their Parliament, with turnout exceeding 55% according to the election commission, an unexpected level for this election which was closely watched by Tehran and Washington.
According to the KPU, more than 12 million people voted, out of more than 21.4 million voters. The turnout rose sharply from an all-time low of 41% in 2021, despite a general feeling of apathy and skepticism, as well as a boycott of this year’s elections by influential Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr. First results are expected in the next 24 hours.
But on the ground, some voters said they voted in hopes of change. “We face unemployment and people are tired, we need progress”Ali Abed, 57, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in the city of Mosul. “Every four years, the same thing happens. We don’t see any young faces or new energy” capable “to make changes”complained a student, Al-Hassan Yassin.
Unusual stability
Voters were asked to decide among more than 7,700 candidates, nearly a third of whom were women, for 329 four-year deputy seats. Women must secure at least a quarter of the seats in the future Parliament, under a quota system, while nine seats are reserved for minorities. Only 75 independent candidates are running, and election laws are considered to favor the major parties.
Iraq has enjoyed unusual stability in recent years, after decades of war and oppression under Saddam Hussein and since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted him. However, the country still has poor infrastructure, poor public services, and rampant corruption.
This is the sixth election since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The election paved the way for the appointment of a new president – a largely honorary position reserved for Kurds – and a prime minister – usually a Shiite – who was chosen after lengthy negotiations. A Sunni will occupy the post of chairman of Parliament.
Since the fall of Sunni Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s long-oppressed Shiite majority has continued to dominate, and most parties have maintained ties with neighboring Iran. The current Shiite prime minister, Mohamed Chia Al-Soudani, who hopes to win a second term, would need to win a bloc majority, but has yet to secure a majority. He came to power in 2022 thanks to the support of an alliance that unites Shiite parties and factions all linked to Iran.
Regional tensions and influence play
The next prime minister will be chosen by a coalition that manages to gather enough allies. During the last legislative elections, Shiite leader Moqtada Al-Sadr’s movement won the largest number of seats before withdrawing from Parliament following disagreements with Shiite parties who did not support his bid to form a government and instead grouped among themselves. The division culminated in deadly fighting in the capital.
This year, Mr. Sadr refused to participate in a “a shaky election, dominated by sectarian, ethnic and partisan interests”called on his supporters to boycott the vote. Sunni parties emerged separately, with former Parliament Speaker Mohamed Al-Halboussi the favorite. In the autonomous Kurdistan region, competition between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) remains fierce.
Iraq, a close ally of Iran and the United States, has long sought to maintain a balance between the two foes. Iran hopes to maintain its influence over its neighbors after seeing its other regional allies (Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Palestine’s Hamas, Yemen’s Houthis) weakened by two years of Israeli attacks. Tehran also lost its main ally with the fall of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria at the end of 2024.
And Iraq is under pressure from the United States (which has some 2,500 troops in the country) to disarm pro-Iran groups. The Trump administration appointed a special envoy to the country, Iraqi-born Mark Savaya, who stressed the need to meet with Iraqis “free from malicious foreign interference, especially interference from Iran and its proxies”.
