Iraqis headed to the polls on Tuesday morning to cast their votes in the general election for the country’s sixth parliamentary term, marking another democratic practice within the political process established after 2003, following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s Baath regime at the hands of the United States and its allies.
The Independent High Electoral Commission opened polling stations across Iraq at 7:00 a.m., with voting scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m.
Approximately 21 million eligible voters, out of a total population of around 46 million, are entitled to elect 329 members of parliament for the next legislative term. More than 7,000 candidates, both men and women, are competing across 37 political alliances and coalitions in all regions of Iraq.
On Sunday, November 9, Iraq held the special voting process for members of the security forces, including the Peshmerga in the Kurdistan Region.
That evening, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Qais al-Muhammadawi announced that turnout in the special voting exceeded 80%, an unprecedented rate.
The Sadrist Movement, led by Muqtada al-Sadr, is boycotting these elections, despite efforts by prominent political figures and parties to persuade him otherwise—all of which failed.
The Sadrists, one of Iraq’s most influential Shiite currents, are among the main boycotters of this election amid rapid political, security, and economic developments in Iraq and the broader region, coupled with increased U.S. pressure on Iran to curb the influence of Iran-backed Shiite armed factions inside Iraq.
Observers note that with al-Sadr’s withdrawal, which leaves a large portion of his popular base outside the race, other Shiite political forces now have more flexibility in dealing with Iraq’s other communities to form the next government—even as Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani seeks a second term in office.
Earlier this month, Kareem al-Tamimi, the Presidential Adviser for Electoral Affairs, predicted that Shiite parties and alliances would win around 183 seats in the upcoming elections.
In the Kurdistan Region, the two dominant parties—the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—continue to lead the race for the largest share of votes. Despite a year having passed since the Kurdistan parliamentary elections, the two parties have yet to form a new regional government, awaiting the results of the Iraqi national elections to facilitate negotiations over power-sharing arrangements both inside and outside the region.
On the Sunni political scene, electoral competition has intensified among the three major coalitions:
• the Progress Alliance (Taqaddum) led by former Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi,
• the Azm Alliance headed by Muthanna al-Samarrai, and
• the Siyada (Sovereignty) Alliance led by Khamis al-Khanjar.
Each bloc is striving to win the largest number of seats to gain leverage in post-election negotiations, particularly over the parliament speakership, a position traditionally allocated according to the sectarian power-sharing system established after 2003.
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iraq’s political system has operated under an informal quota arrangement among the country’s three main components:
• the prime ministership for the Shiites (the largest demographic group),
• the presidency for the Kurds, and
• The Kurds hold the presidency, while the Sunnis hold the speakership of parliament.
Analysts of Iraqi affairs suggest that low voter turnout remains a major concern, reflecting declining public confidence in the political process due to poor public services, rampant corruption, high unemployment, and economic uncertainty—all worsened by regional instability and the threat of U.S. financial sanctions over Iraq’s dealings with Iran-backed militias.
They also note that Iraq’s oil-dependent economy, which lacks diversification, makes it difficult to cover state expenditures and pay public sector salaries amid a bloated bureaucracy and a sluggish private sector struggling under heavy imports and trade deficits.
These long-standing issues, combined with climate change, drought, desertification, pollution, and growing domestic and foreign debt, which has deepened the budget deficit, represent some of the most pressing challenges facing Iraq’s next government.