Elections in Iraq

Under the Iraqi constitution of 1925, Iraq was a constitutional monarchy, with a bicameral legislature consisting of an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. The lower house was elected every four years by manhood suffrage (women did not vote). The first Parliament met in 1925. Ten general elections were held before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958.

Between 1958 and 2003 Iraq was ruled by multiple dictatorships, socialist, Arabist then Ba'athist under the regime of Ahmed Hassan Al Bakr, who came to power in 1968, then Saddam Hussein in 1979. On 16 October 2002, after a well-publicized show election, Iraqi officials declared that Saddam had been re-elected to another seven-year term as president by a 100% unanimous vote of all 11,445,638 eligible Iraqis, eclipsing the 99.96% received in 1995. ^[1] Foreign governments dismissed the vote as lacking credibility.

Latest results

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Reconstruction and Development Coalition	1,318,687	11.74	46
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	1,101,357	9.81	26
	Progress Party	939,810	8.37	27
	State of Law Coalition	728,446	6.49	29
	Al-Sadiqoun Bloc	686,902	6.12	27
	Badr Organization	556,850	4.96	18
	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan	548,928	4.89	15
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	513,715	4.57	18
	Azem Alliance	483,737	4.31	15
	National Sovereignty Alliance	316,415	2.82	9
	Iraqi Fundamental Coalition	291,128	2.59	8
	Rights Movement	231,013	2.06	6
	National Determination Alliance	226,469	2.02	5
	Good News, Iraq	211,276	1.88	4
	Ishraqat Kanoon	199,335	1.78	8
	Services Alliance  [ ar ]	190,707	1.70	5
	Tasmim Alliance	173,761	1.55	6
	Kurdistan Islamic Union	166,954	1.49	4
	National Stance Movement	156,995	1.40	5
	New Generation Movement	139,247	1.24	3
	Al-Anbar Is Our Identity Alliance	128,325	1.14	3
	Nineveh for Its People	111,125	0.99	3
	Wasit Ajmal Alliance	106,152	0.95	4
	National Party of the Masses	104,749	0.93	3
	Qimam Coalition	97,635	0.87	3
	Tafawq Alliance	84,326	0.75	2
	Alternative Alliance	71,697	0.64	0
	Sumerian Movement	66,468	0.59	2
	Unified Iraqi Turkmen Front	66,179	0.59	2
	Al-Faw Zakho Coalition	64,263	0.57	1
	Saladin Unified Alliance	57,150	0.51	1
	Nineveh's People Union	56,420	0.50	2
	Arab Project	54,573	0.49	1
	Diyala First Coalition	53,469	0.48	1
	Arab Alliance of Kirkuk	53,046	0.47	1
	Saladin Partnership Alliance	50,980	0.45	1
	National Identity	50,200	0.45	1
	Kurdistan Justice Group	49,756	0.44	1
	Yazidi Cause Alliance	49,211	0.44	1
	Our Hawks	41,434	0.37	0
	Kirkuk Turkmen Salvation Alliance	32,751	0.29	0
	National Depth Alliance	31,829	0.28	0
	Thabitun	30,449	0.27	1
	Nineveh First Alliance	29,381	0.26	0
	Idraak Movement	28,491	0.25	1
	State Support Bloc	21,615	0.19	1
	People's Front	21,008	0.19	0
	Qadimun	20,193	0.18	0
	National Hadbaa Alliance	18,383	0.16	0
	The Youth Machine	14,915	0.13	0
	Civil Party	12,974	0.12	0
	Civil Democratic Alliance	9,069	0.08	0
	Leadership Alliance	8,226	0.07	0
	National Pioneers Movement	7,389	0.07	0
	Kurdistan Social Democratic Party	7,100	0.06	0
	Sharqat Alliance	6,941	0.06	0
	Diwaniyah Flame	5,612	0.05	0
	Iraqi Altruism Party	5,505	0.05	0
	Al-Umran Party	4,261	0.04	0
	National Tribal Movement in Iraq	4,112	0.04	0
	Iraq Reform Party	4,056	0.04	0
	Rescuers	3,978	0.04	0
	Iraqi Turkmen Front	2,395	0.02	0
	National Brigade Party	1,774	0.02	0
	Al-Daae Party	1,731	0.02	0
	National Spread Party	1,603	0.01	0
	Our Cause Movement	1,324	0.01	0
	Fayli Front	1,159	0.01	0
	National Al-Refah Party	234	0.00	0
	Independents	22,495	0.20	0
Christian minority candidates		154,227	1.37	5
Feyli minority candidates		39,055	0.35	1
Yazidi minority candidates		32,169	0.29	1
Mandaean minority candidates		27,457	0.24	1
Shabak minority candidates		17,158	0.15	1
Total		11,229,909	100.00	329
Valid votes		11,267,161	93.92
Invalid/blank votes		729,923	6.08
Total votes		11,997,084	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		21,406,882	56.04
Source: IHEC, IHEC

Parliamentary elections

January 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election

Main article: January 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election

The multinational force's 2003 invasion of Iraq overthrew Saddam's government and installed an interim administration.

An initial Iraqi attempt at holding local elections was canceled by Paul Bremer. ^[2]

This government held elections on 30 January 2005 to begin the process of writing a constitution. International groups and the formerly excluded factions claimed that the January 2005 elections were the first free elections in Iraq's history, with a fair representation of all groups. This is in stark contrast to previous elections, such as the 16 October 2002 referendum on the extension of his role as president, when Saddam Hussein claimed that 100% of the voters voted "yes" and that 100% of Iraqi's had voted (approximately 24,001,820 people). Opponents of the occupation, such as the various insurgent groups, claimed the elections were not free and fair, citing flaws in the process. The UN adviser to Iraq's election commission Craig Jenness said the complaints were not significant; "I don't see anything that would necessitate a rerun.... There were nearly 7,000 candidates standing in this election and only 275 seats, so you're always going to have winners and losers and it's normal that the losers won't always be happy about it." ^{[3] [4]}

December 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election

Main article: December 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election

2009 request for national elections

The issue arising was the interpretation of Article 56 of the constitution which states:

First: The electoral term of the Council of Representatives shall be four calendar years, starting with its first session and ending with the conclusion of the fourth year.

Second: The new Council of Representatives shall be elected forty-five days before the conclusion of the preceding electoral term. The previous election had been on 15 December 2005.

The opening session of the Council of Representatives had been 16 March 2006 (the swearing in session) and the first substantive session of the Council of Representatives was then held on 22 April 2006. The Court was of the opinion that the swearing in session on 16 March 2006 was the "first session" as required by Article 56(First). It therefore followed that the conclusion of the fourth year would be on 15 March 2010 and that the election should be 45 days prior to 15 March 2010, i.e., 30 January 2010. The court decided that the calendar year referred to was the 365-day Gregorian year (and not for example the 360-day Hijri year).

2010 Iraqi parliamentary election

Main article: 2010 Iraqi parliamentary election

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Iraqi National Movement	2,849,612	24.72	91	+54
	State of Law Coalition	2,792,083	24.22	89	+64
	National Iraqi Alliance	2,092,066	18.15	70	–35
	Kurdistan List	1,681,714	14.59	43	–10
	Movement for Change	476,478	4.13	8	+8
	Iraqi Accord Front	298,226	2.59	6	–38
	Unity Alliance of Iraq	306,647	2.66	4	+4
	Kurdistan Islamic Union	243,720	2.11	4	–1
	Islamic Group of Kurdistan	152,530	1.32	2	+1
	Reserved seats for ethnic minorities	61,153	0.53	8	+6
	Others	572,183	4.96	–	–
Total		11,526,412	100.00	325	+50
Registered voters/turnout		18,902,073	–
Source: Psephos

2018 parliamentary election

Main article: 2018 Iraqi parliamentary election

2021 Iraqi parliamentary election

Main article: 2021 Iraqi parliamentary election

2025 Iraqi parliamentary election

Main article: 2025 Iraqi parliamentary election

On 17 November 2025, the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission announced that the Reconstruction and Development coalition, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, topped the final results with 46 seats in the 329-member Council of Representatives, followed by the Progress (Taqaddum) party of former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi with 36 seats, and the State of Law coalition of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki with 29 seats. ^[5] Subsequently, the Shia-led Coordination Framework declared that it had constituted itself as the largest parliamentary bloc by uniting its component parties, thereby positioning itself as a central force in government formation and parliamentary negotiations. ^[5]

Presidential elections

2004 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2004 Iraqi presidential election

2005 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2005 Iraqi presidential election

2006 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2006 Iraqi presidential election

2010 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2010 Iraqi presidential election

2014 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2014 Iraqi presidential election

2018 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2018 Iraqi presidential election

2022 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2022 Iraqi presidential election

2026 Iraqi presidential election

Main article: 2026 Iraqi presidential election

Elections are set to be held this year. The two potential choices are Fuad Hussein of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Nizar Amedi of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Local governorate elections

2005 Iraqi governorate elections

Main article: 2005 Iraqi governorate elections

2009 Iraqi governorate elections

Main article: 2009 Iraqi governorate elections

2013 provincial councils (local government) elections

Main article: 2013 Iraqi governorate elections

2013 elections statistics

Source: ^{[6] [ better source needed ]}

• Overall turnout: 51% (Similar to turnout in 2009 Elections) ^[6]
• Number of registered eligible voters: Approx. 13,800,000 (Including 14,000 prisoners, 55,000 hospital patients and 53,000 displaced Iraqis eligible to vote).
• Number of voters turned out: 6,400,777 voters
• Elections are held: 12 provinces (out of 18 provinces).
  • Four provinces are part of the semi-autonomous region Kurdistan with their Elections in September 2013, two provinces (Anbar, Nineveh) requested to postpone their elections due to security reasons. ^[6]

• No. of seats contested: 378 seats in Province Councils (Local Government).
• Number of candidates: 8138
• Female candidates: 2205
• Male candidates: 5933

This is the sixth voting exercise by Iraqis in 10 years:

• 2004 National Assembly Elections
• 2005 Constitution Referendum
• 2005 Parliamentary Elections
• 2009 Provincial Councils
• 2010 Parliamentary elections
• 2013 Provincial Council (Saturday 20 April)
• Number of parties and alliances competing: 256 parties and 50 political alliances
• International independent observers (non-Iraqi): 350
• Local independent observers: 6,000
• Political parties’ observers (political entity representatives): 267,388
• Polling stations: 5,370 (5,178)¹
• Ballot boxes: 32,445 (32,201)² election ballot box
  • Including polling stations in prisons and hospitals.
• Polling stations opening time: 07:00 to 17:00 (Baghdad Time)
• IHEC Help Centre Freephone: 2800 calls received from voters.
• Local Help Centres set up by IHEC: 12 (one in each province).
• IHEC staff (including reserve staff): 180,000 ^[6]
  • 100% of staff in this election were Iraqis
• Local journalists and media: 2,256
• International journalists: 187 ^[6]

Basra

Main article: 2013 Basra governorate election

In Basrah the numbers were as follows: Voter turnout: 42% ^[7]

Registered eligible voters: Approx. 1,600,000 ^[7]

Ballots cast: Approx. 650,000 ^[7]

Candidates: 656

Contested seats: 35 Council seats (1 seat reserved for Christian quota)

Political entities: 25 (party and alliance)

In the first elections since the withdrawal of U.S. forces, the Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission (IHEC) confirmed that 6,400,777 voters cast their votes.

2023 Iraqi governorate elections

Main article: 2023 Iraqi governorate elections

See also

• Assyrian elections in Iraq
• History of Iraq
• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system
• 2010 Iraqi Status of Forces Agreement referendum
• Legislative Council of the Autonomous Kurdistan Region

References

1. Esterbrook, John (16 October 2002). "Saddam Hussein Wins One-Man Race - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
2. Rohde, David (19 June 2003). "AFTER THE WAR: OCCUPATION; Iraqis Were Set to Vote, but U.S. Wielded a Veto". The New York Times.
3. "UN rules out Iraqi election rerun". 23 December 2005.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2006.
5. "Iraqi prime minister's coalition tops parliamentary elections with 46 seats". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
6. "Iraq 2013 Elections Numbers & Turnout," Posted by H Al Researcher, especialview.wordpress.com (21 April 2013).
7. "Basrah – Iraq's Oil City Local Elections Numbers". 2 May 2013.

External links

• Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission Archived 13 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
• Op-Ed by former Iraqi Premier Ayad Allawi on Iraqi electoral reform
• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• UN rules out Iraqi election rerun
• UN-led team finds Iraq election credible
• Iraq's Electoral system is a part of the problem says Regional Expert
• Provincial Elections in Iraq: Blow to Confessionalism (Qantara.de)
• Global Justice Project: Iraq
• Iraq Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit Reports, Maps and Assessments of Iraq from the UN Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit