Iraqis vote in general election in rare moment of calm

BAGHDAD

Iraqis voters arrive to cast their vote at a ballot station in the country's parliamentary election in Basra, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ali Rahim)

Iraqis began voting for a new parliament on Tuesday at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region, in an election that both Iran and the United States will be closely watching.

Iraq has been unusually stable in recent years, as the nation tries to move past decades of war since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

But even now, the country of 46 million people suffers from poor infrastructure, failing public services and endemic corruption.

Many have lost hope that elections can bring meaningful change to their daily lives and see the vote as a sham that only benefits political elites and regional powers.

Polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and close at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), with preliminary results expected within 24 hours of closing.

Just minutes after the polls opened, several senior politicians voted at the luxurious Al-Rasheed hotel in the capital, Baghdad.

But four hours later, AFP correspondents reported a mostly low turnout in several main cities.

In Baghdad, the streets, adorned with election posters, were largely deserted except for security forces, though polling stations in some neighbourhoods drew a fair number of voters.

More than 21 million people are eligible to vote, but there are fears turnout could drop below the 41 percent registered in 2021 — the lowest since voting began.

But for Mohammed Mehdi, a public servant in his thirties, voting is a right and a means to achieve change.

While he doesn't blame those who chose to boycott, he said after casting his vote in Baghdad that politicians have spent heavily to win votes, "proving my vote is valuable — so I will use it."

  Sectarian politics

More than 7,740 candidates, nearly a third of them women, are running for the 329-seat parliament.

Only 75 independents are standing under an electoral law that many believe favours larger parties.

Over the years since U.S.-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, Iraq's long-oppressed Shiite majority still dominates, with most parties retaining ties to neighbouring Iran.

By convention in post-invasion Iraq, a Shiite Muslim holds the post of prime minister and a Sunni that of parliament speaker, while the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.

No new names have recently emerged, with the same Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians remaining at the forefront.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who hopes for a second term after serving under the banner of stability and reconstruction, is likely to score a significant win.

Sudani rose to power in 2022 with the backing of the Coordination Framework, a ruling alliance of Shiite parties and factions all linked to Iran.

He has highlighted his success in keeping Iraq relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.

But with a single party or list unlikely to achieve an outright majority, he must win the backing of whichever coalition can secure enough allies to become the largest bloc.

Although they run separately, Shiite parties within the Coordination Framework are expected to reunite after elections and pick the next premier.

 Where is Sadr? 

The ballot is marked by the absence of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, who urged his followers to boycott what he called a "flawed election".

In 2021, Sadr secured the largest bloc before withdrawing from parliament following a dispute with Shiite parties that did not support his bid to form a government, and instead came together to form a larger alliance.

The rift culminated in deadly fighting in Baghdad.

Sunni parties are running separately, with the former speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi expected to do well.

In the autonomous Kurdistan region, the rivalry between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan remains fierce.

Iraq, which has long been a fertile land for proxy wars, is a close ally of both Iran and the United States.

It has long sought to maintain a balance between the two foes, and even more so now that the Middle East is undergoing seismic changes, with new alliances forming and old powers weakening.

Even as its influence wanes, Iran hopes to preserve its power in Iraq — the only close ally that stayed out of Israel's crosshairs after the heavy losses its other allies have incurred in Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza since 2023.

Early last year, pro-Iran factions listed as terrorist groups by Washington yielded to internal and U.S. pressure and stopped targeting American forces in Iraq after months of attacks over the Gaza war.

Iraq has been under pressure from the United States to disarm the pro-Iran groups.

The U.S., which holds much sway in Iraq and has forces deployed there, has always called to free Iraq from Iran and its proxies' interference.