Overview
- Polling for security forces and displaced people begins Sunday, with the nationwide vote set for Tuesday, November 11.
- The Sadrist Movement is boycotting while Iran-linked militia blocs such as Harakat Huqouq and Sadiqoun are competing for seats.
- Only 21.4 million of 32 million eligible Iraqis updated voter data for cards, turnout fell to 41% in 2021, and there will be no overseas polling stations.
- Allegations of vote-buying and 848 candidate disqualifications cloud the process, and a Sunni candidate, Safaa al-Mashhadani, was assassinated last month with five suspects arrested.
- The result will shape whether Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani secures a second term as Baghdad balances U.S.–Iran pressures and touts in-principle energy deals with Chevron and ExxonMobil as stabilizing investment.