Iraqis headed to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new parliament in an election closely monitored by both Tehran and Washington, one that could shape the country’s future amid a pivotal regional moment.
اضافة اعلان
This marks Iraq’s sixth parliamentary election since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, taking place amid relative stability in the oil-rich nation after decades of conflict that devastated its infrastructure.
Polling stations opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (04:00 GMT) for over 21.4 million registered voters to choose members of parliament for a four-year term, with voting scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m. (15:00 GMT).
Reporters from Agence France-Presse (AFP) at a polling center inside Baghdad’s Al-Rasheed Hotel observed several prominent political figures casting their ballots, including former prime ministers Adel Abdel Mahdi and Nouri al-Maliki, as well as Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq faction.
In Sulaymaniyah, the second-largest city in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, AFP correspondents saw Bafel Talabani, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), casting his vote shortly after polls opened.
Preliminary results are expected within 24 hours after polls close.
More than 7,740 candidates — nearly one-third of them women — are competing for 329 parliamentary seats representing over 46 million citizens, with only 75 independents running this year, as most candidates belong to major political parties and coalitions.
In Baghdad’s Mutanabbi Street, university student Al-Hassan Yassin remarked, “Every four years, we see the same faces returning. We don’t see young people capable of change.”
Political analyst Ihsan al-Shammari said the political scene “appears stable,” noting that “the same Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish candidates remain in the race.”
Will Al-Sudani Stay in Power?
The elections serve as a pathway to choosing a new president — a largely ceremonial position reserved for Kurds — and a new prime minister, both typically selected through political consensus, a process that can take months.
Analysts expect the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, to win a significant number of seats, though this does not necessarily guarantee his return to office.
Al-Sudani became prime minister in 2022 following a year-long political deadlock led by the Coordination Framework, the largest parliamentary bloc comprising Shiite parties aligned with Tehran. He has often praised his government’s success in keeping Iraq relatively stable amid Middle East unrest since taking office.
Although running separately in the election, Shiite parties under the Coordination Framework are expected to unite afterward to form the largest bloc.
Notably absent from the race is Moqtada al-Sadr, a populist cleric with a massive support base, who has boycotted the elections, describing the process as “corrupt” and calling on his followers to refrain from both voting and running.
The 2021 elections, which saw a record-low turnout of 41%, ended with al-Sadr’s movement winning the most seats (73), but he later withdrew from parliament due to disputes with the Coordination Framework, sparking months of political paralysis and deadly street clashes.
Meanwhile, Sunni parties are contesting separately, with former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a prominent Sunni figure, expected to make notable gains.
The vote also extends to the autonomous Kurdistan Region, where the long-standing rivalry continues between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Tehran and Washington
Iraq continues to walk a delicate diplomatic tightrope between its ally Iran and adversary the United States, especially amid shifting regional dynamics since the Gaza war in 2023.
The United States, which maintains forces in Iraq as part of the international coalition against ISIS, has increased pressure on Baghdad to disarm Iran-aligned militias.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration recently appointed Mark Savaya as special envoy to Iraq, who emphasized last month the importance of ensuring Iraq remains “free from malign foreign interference, including that of Iran and its proxies.”
(AFP)
