Overview
- Iraq’s electoral commission said Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s Coalition of Development and Reconstruction finished first in preliminary results.
- No clear majority is expected, setting up extended negotiations among Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions to form a government.
- Turnout was reported at or below historic lows, with local outlets citing roughly 37% participation while officials reported 56% of registered voters.
- A boycott by Muqtada al-Sadr’s movement sharply depressed participation in strongholds such as Sadr City, where polling sites were largely empty.
- The head of the Supreme Judicial Council declared the Nov. 11 voting date unconstitutional, raising the prospect of legal challenges to the process.