Mohamed Shia al-Sudani referred to the support his camp received in the Iraqi parliamentary elections and said this result was due to his camp prioritizing Iraq in its political agenda. The main news is that the ruling coalition led by al-Sudani managed to emerge as the party with the most votes in the parliamentary elections, but the amount achieved is not enough to form a government and, according to official data released this Wednesday, it will need to negotiate with other Shiite forces to gain the necessary parliamentary support.
According to information released by the Independent High Electoral Commission and cited by Rudaw Media, the construction and development list led by al-Sudani received more than 1.3 million votes with a vote-counting rate of 99.74 percent. The support puts the ruling coalition at the forefront of the election campaign, but it remains dependent on political consensus to muster the 165 seats needed to name the next head of Iraq’s government, the committee said.
According to data provided by the Independent High Electoral Commission and collected by Rudaw, the electoral participation rate reached 56.11 percent, corresponding to an increase of 12 percentage points compared to the level recorded in the 2021 elections. This increase in participation is occurring in a context of political uncertainty characterized by difficulties in forming stable governments in previous cycles, the same source reported.
In second place was the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), headed by President Nechirvan Barzani of the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdish faction won about 1 million votes, according to preliminary results reported by the electoral commission and reported by Rudaw.
A relevant aspect of the electoral process was that the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his political movement chose not to participate. Rudaw said Al-Sadr’s decision was made after his coalition won a majority in parliament in the 2021 elections but was unable to reach an agreement to form a government and no progress has been made towards resolving the country’s long-running political crisis. The lack of agreement led to clashes between various Shiite factions, hampering their ability to govern and adding uncertainty to the political situation.
Elections at polling stations this week are presented as another attempt to stabilize the political system after a period when dissent and lockdowns made it difficult to form a permanent government. Although the preliminary results favor al-Sudani and his coalition, they do not give him an absolute majority, a fact that, as Rudaw detailed, forces him to agree with other Shiite factions.
In a statement after learning the first results, Al-Sudani thanked the people for their support and emphasized his will to carry out a government that puts the country’s interests first. In his words recorded by Rudeau: “Our coalition won the most votes because we believe that ‘Iraq comes first’ and, thanks to the dedication of our faithful sons and daughters, Iraq will always occupy the most important position.” The president also emphasized the support given by the people on the path of “Work, Build, Achieve.”
The demand for 165 members in parliament remains a key challenge for the ruling party. According to election authorities and Kurdish media, the distribution of seats will force the winner to form alliances and agreements with other groups, especially Shiite sects, to be able to form a new government.
The boycott of al-Sadr and the increase in participation were highlighted by analysts and local media outlets such as Rudaw, which placed both events in the context of a crisis following the previous parliament’s failure to select a prime minister and ensure continuity of the system.
Figures released by the Electoral Commission, which is still awaiting the final conclusion of its investigation, indicate a partial recovery in interest in the electoral process from the decline recorded in the last election. The dynamics of the alliance and the ensuing parliamentary negotiation process will mark the next steps in defining a new government, Mr. Roudeau said.
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