Iraqis walk past election billboards, one of which bears the portrait of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (center), in downtown Baghdad, October 19, 2025. — AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images
Just one day remains before Iraq holds parliamentary elections on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and tensions could rise further. Four years after the victory of Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc, his group was excluded from government, prompting Sadr to withdraw from political life in 2022. He has declared a boycott of this year's vote. Meanwhile, the Shiite Coordination Framework — a coalition of pro-Iranian Shiite factions that came to power in 2022 — is more fragmented than ever. Participation rates are expected to be exceptionally low amid widespread public denunciation of corruption. Dig deeper Ahead of parliamentary elections, Iran seeks to strengthen its role in Iraq Renad Mansour, a researcher at Chatham House, wrote in his latest report, "The election is less a referendum on government performance than an opportunity...
Just one day remains before Iraq holds parliamentary elections on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and tensions could rise further. Four years after the victory of Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc, his group was excluded from government, prompting Sadr to withdraw from political life in 2022. He has declared a boycott of this year's vote. Meanwhile, the Shiite Coordination Framework — a coalition of pro-Iranian Shiite factions that came to power in 2022 — is more fragmented than ever. Participation rates are expected to be exceptionally low amid widespread public denunciation of corruption. Dig deeper Ahead of parliamentary elections, Iran seeks to strengthen its role in Iraq Renad Mansour, a researcher at Chatham House, wrote in his latest report, "The election is less a referendum on government performance than an...
