Overview
- Polling for security forces and displaced people begins Sunday, with nationwide voting scheduled for Tuesday, November 11.
- The outcome will shape Baghdad’s balancing act between Tehran and Washington as officials brace for possible Israel–Iran escalation and U.S. pressure on Iran-linked militias.
- Al-Sudani seeks to extend a period of relative calm, but coalition negotiations—not the largest bloc alone—will determine who becomes prime minister.
- The Sadrist Movement is boycotting; 7,744 candidates are running under rules reserving 25% of seats for women and nine for minorities, as voter registration falls below 2021 levels.
- Authorities report widespread allegations of vote-buying, 848 candidate disqualifications, and the Oct. 15 car-bomb killing of a candidate, while Baghdad courts U.S. oil firms Chevron and ExxonMobil to anchor American stakes in Iraq’s stability.