Decoding Iraq’s 2025 elections: Who’s competing, what’s changing, and why it matters?

Iraqi voters are set to head to the polls on Tuesday, November 11 to elect a new parliament. This marks Iraq’s sixth parliamentary election since 2003 and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Number of seats and candidates

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has approved 7,744 candidates to compete for 329 seats in the Iraqi parliament, while 848 candidates were disqualified.
At least 25% of the seats (83 in total) are reserved for women, awarded to female candidates with the highest number of votes in each electoral district. If women candidates fail to reach the quota in a province, those with the next-highest votes from the non-winning lists will replace them to ensure compliance with the quota.

The law also reserves 9 parliamentary seats for minority groups, including 5 for Christians, and one each for the Mandaeans, Yazidis, Shabaks, and Fayli Kurds. Candidates from these groups who receive the most votes within their quotas will win those seats.

The electoral law

The 2025 parliamentary elections will be held under Law No. 4 of 2023, the third amendment to the Law of Elections for the Council of Representatives and Provincial and Regional Councils (Law No. 12 of 2018), passed by parliament on March 27, 2023.

This law applies a proportional representation system with open lists and treats each province as a single electoral district.

Votes are divided by a sequence of divisors (e.g., 1.7, 1.9, 3, 5, 7, etc.), and seats are allocated to candidates in descending order of vote totals until all seats are filled.
This amendment reduces the chances for smaller and independent lists while favoring larger coalitions.

Eligibility

Every Iraqi citizen 18 years or older is eligible to vote. Citizens 28 years or older with an accredited educational degree can run for parliament, provided they have no criminal record involving moral corruption and are not subject to de-Ba’athification procedures.

The election commission approved 5,520 male and 2,248 female candidates representing 38 political parties, 31 coalitions, and 75 independent lists, all competing for the 329 parliamentary seats.

Out of Iraq’s 46 million people, about 30 million are eligible to vote — however, nearly 7 million have not renewed their voter cards and thus cannot participate.

Election Timeline

Iraq entered electoral silence on Saturday, November 8, ahead of the special and general voting phases for the sixth parliamentary elections.

Special voting is set for Sunday, November 9, followed by general voting on Tuesday, November 11.

Major Political Forces

Shiite Blocs

• “Construction and Development Alliance”, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, includes movements such as Al-Furatain, National Alliance (Ayad Allawi), Ata’a Movement (Falih al-Fayyad), Jund al-Imam, and others.
• State of Law Coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, and the Foundation Alliance, led by Mohsen al-Mandalawi, are running separately.
• The National Power Party (Abdul-Hussein Abtan) and Islamic Supreme Council (Humam Hammoudi) are also participating.
• Al-Hikma Movement (Ammar al-Hakim) and Victory Coalition (Haider al-Abadi) are running jointly under the “National State Forces Alliance.”
• Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, led by Qais al-Khazali, participates under the “Sadiqun List”, headed by Na’eem al-Aboudi.
• The Services Coalition, led by Shibl al-Zaidi, is also competing.
• Moqtada al-Sadr and his Sadrist Movement have declared a complete boycott of the elections.

Sunni Parties

• “Taqaddum” Coalition, led by Mohammed al-Halbousi, is expected to perform strongly as it did in 2021.
• “Sovereignty–Legislation Alliance” brings together Khamis al-Khanjar, Ziad al-Janabi, and Mahmoud al-Mashhadani.
• “Azm” Coalition, led by Muthanna al-Samarrai, is a key rival to Halbousi, particularly in Anbar and Baghdad.
• Other Sunni lists include “Nineveh for Its People” (Abdullah al-Yawar), “Qate’” Coalition (Thabet al-Abbasi, Defense Minister), and “National Identity” Party (Omar Namak al-Mawli).

Kurdish Parties

• The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani, are running separately.
• Other Kurdish groups include New Generation Movement (Shaswar Abdulwahid), Gorran (Change) Movement, Justice Group (Ali Bapir), Islamic Union (Salahuddin Bahaauddin), and the People’s Front (Lahur Sheikh Jangi).

Cross-Sectarian and Minority Lists

• Adnan al-Zurfi, former governor of Najaf, heads the “Alternative Coalition,” including civil and leftist groups like the Communist Party (Raed Fahmi) and National Home Party.
• A unified Christian Alliance includes the Chaldean National Council, Syriac Assembly Movement, and others, opposing the Babylon Movement led by Rayan al-Kildani.

When will results be announced?

Preliminary results are expected within 24 hours after polls close, while final results will follow after audits, complaint reviews, and appeals.

The process of forming a government could face delays due to fragmented results and the absence of a clear parliamentary majority.