Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s alliance won parliamentary elections in Iraq clearly won. According to media reports, the Iraqi election commission announced after counting more than 99 percent of the votes that the list for reconstruction and development led by al-Sudani (more than 1.3 million votes) had won by a clear margin over the Kurdistan Democratic Party (more than one million votes). A party led by a Sunni politician finished third (around 945,000 votes).
The KPU announced voter participation of 56.1 percent. This number is a significant increase compared to the 2021 election, when voter turnout was lower by around twelve percentage points. Al-Sudani is seeking a second term. However, experts see the chances of a second term as quite slim, mainly because of deep divisions within the coalition.
More than 21 million of Iraq’s 46 million citizens were on Tuesday asked to vote for a new parliament. There are 329 seats up for grabs and a quarter of them are reserved for women. However, the al-Sudani alliance also does not have a sufficient majority, so negotiations must begin between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish parties in a coalition.
The election campaign was marred by violence
Negotiations may last several weeks or months. More than 300 observers, including representatives from the UN, the Arab League and international monitors, monitored the election process.
More than 20 years after the US invasion and overthrow of former ruler Saddam Hussein and years of reign of terror by ISIS militias in several parts of the country, stability in the Mesopotamian region is still considered fragile. Both the US and neighboring Iran are trying to assert their influence in the country. Given tensions between different ethnic and sectarian groups, ongoing corruption and violence, many people’s distrust of politics is deepening.
The election campaign was marred by violence. A Sunni candidate was killed in a car bomb last month. Shortly before polling stations opened on Tuesday, two police officers were killed in a shootout outside a candidate’s office in Kirkuk province in the north of the country. Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called for a boycott of the election – demanding reforms and tougher action against corruption.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251112-930-285364/1
