2021 Iraqi parliamentary election

2021 Iraqi parliamentary election

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All 329 seats in the Council of Representatives 165 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	43.30% 1.22pp
Party Leader % Seats +/– Sadrist Movement Muqtada al-Sadr 10.00 73 +19 Progress Party Mohamed al-Halbousi 7.20 37 New State of Law Nouri al-Maliki 5.67 33 +8 KDP Masoud Barzani 8.83 31 +6 Fatah Hadi al-Amiri 5.23 17 -31 Kurdistani Coalition Bafel Talabani 4.16 17 -1 Khamis al-Khanjar 4.76 14 New Emtidad Alaa al-Rikabi 3.38 9 New NGM Shaswar Abdulwahid 2.64 9 +5 Jaafar Aziz 1.13 6 New Sarah al-Salihi 1.73 5 New ANSF Haider al-Abadi 4.06 4 -38 Falih al-Fayyadh 3.79 4 New Babylon Movement Rayan al-Kildani 0.57 4 +2 Ahmed M. al-Jubouri 0.66 3 New Thabit al-Abbasi 0.30 3 New Ammar Tu'ma 1.22 1 New Hassan Muanes 1.12 1 New Abdulhussein Abtan 0.83 1 New KJG Ali Bapir 0.72 1 New Ahmed A. al-Jubouri 0.56 1 -1 Iraqi Turkmen Front Arshad al-Salihi 0.55 1 -2 Jamal al-Dhari 0.51 1 New Mohamed al-Sudani 0.45 1 New Ghadanfar al-Batikh 0.41 1 New Mohamed al-Mayahi 0.35 1 New Rakan al-Jubouri 0.30 1 -2 Iskander Witwit 0.17 1 New Mohamed al-Wazzan 0.17 1 New Mashaan al-Jubouri 0.14 1 New Zahra al-Salman 0.09 1 New Falih al-Hereshawi 0.07 1 New YMRP Amin Jejo 0.05 1 0 Independents − 19.05 43 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Prime Minister before Prime Minister after Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Independent TBD

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 10 October 2021.^[1] The elections decide the 329 members of the Council of Representatives who will in turn elect the Iraqi president and confirm the prime minister. 25 million voters are eligible to take part in Iraq's fifth parliamentary election since the 2003 US-led invasion and the first since the 2019 Iraqi October Revolution^[2] The election result led to the 2021 Baghdad clashes.

Background[]

The elections were scheduled for June 2021, but were delayed as the Independent High Electoral Commission asked for more time to organize "free and fair elections", which the cabinet of Iraq approved on 19 January 2021.^[3]

Electoral system[]

The electoral system was changed following the last parliamentary elections amid the 2019–2021 Iraqi protests. Previously conducted under proportional representation calculated using the Webster/Sainte-Laguë method with the governorates as constituencies, the 2021 elections will be conducted under single non-transferable vote in 83 multi-member constituencies.^[4][a] One-quarter of total seats are reserved for women in the constituencies, while nine are reserved for minorities (5 for Christians and 1 each for Yazidis, Shabaks, Sabian Mandaeans and Feyli Kurds).^[5][6]

Boycotts and controversy[]

On 15 July 2021, Muqtada al-Sadr announced the Sadrist Movement intended to boycott the October 10th election, citing corruption and voter fraud and claiming that free and fair elections were impossible in the wake of the ongoing political crisis.^[7] On 24 July, the Iraqi Communist Party (which ran with the Sadrist Movement as the Alliance Towards Reforms in 2018), announced they were boycotting the elections, stating "In the absence of conditions for free and fair elections, participation in them would only mean collusion in reproducing the same corrupt political system that is responsible for the catastrophic state of affairs in the country."^[8] Louis Raphaël I Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, also called on Christians to boycott the election.^[9]

The boycotts have been condemned by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, as well as by other Iraqi political parties and leaders, including former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, leader of the State of Law Coalition, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.^[10]

On 27 August, al-Sadr reversed his decision to boycott and announced his party would take part in the election.^[11]

On 9 October, Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party announced that they would withdraw their candidates from the elections in Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah governorates (10 constituencies) and declared their support for the Kurdistan Democratic Party.^[12]

Early voting[]

Soldiers, prisoners and displaced people voted early on 8 October.^[13]

Voter turnout by province[]

Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission initially published a national voter turnout of 42.15%, with 8,818,210 voters out of an electorate of 20,919,844.^[14] The Commission later updated these results to show a slightly lower turnout of 41.05%, based on 9,077,779 voters out of 22,116,368 eligible.^[15]

Province	Turnout
Anbar	43%
Babil	46%
Baghdad–Al-Rusafa	31%
Baghdad–Karkh	34%
Basra	40%
Duhok	54%
Dhi Qar	42%
Diyala	46%
Erbil	46%
Karbala	44%
Kirkuk	44%
Maysan	43%
Muthanna	44%
Najaf	41%
Nineveh	42%
Al-Qadisiyyah	42%
Saladin	48%
Sulaymaniyah (incl. Halabja)	37%
Wasit	44%
Turnout	41.05%

Results[]

The polls were held on 10 October. On 27 December, the Iraqi Supreme Court ratified the parliamentary election results after rejecting a complaint of irregularities filed by the pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi former paramilitary alliance.^[16][17] The High Electoral Commission announced partial preliminary results on 11 October. The Sadrist political bloc received the most seats after the initial count, with 73.^[18] The political Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran Hashed, won 17 seats, down from the 48 it had won in the prior election. Hashed leaders rejected the results, alleging "fraud" in the elections. They took their case to court seeking "to have the results annulled" because of "serious violations".^[19] On 12 October, the commission announced a manual count of polling stations that were not electronically counted in the initial canvass.^[20] Of the total 57,944 polling stations, 45,716 uploaded electronic results. 8,547 stations were selected by lottery to be manually counted, while the remaining 3,681 stations experienced technical difficulties necessitating a manual count as well.^[21] This manual count is expected to modify the overall allocation of seats.

On 15 October, the commission noted it had received 356 complaints about the preliminary election count by the 14 October deadline. The complaints division must address the complaints within seven days, which may then be reviewed by the judiciary within ten days. Final results will not be released until the complaints are resolved.^[22]

Late on 16 October, the commission announced its updated preliminary results after completion of manual recounts.^[23] The updated results triggered another opportunity to file election complaints with a deadline of 19 October. The commission had received over 1,000 complaints by 18 October, but a spokesperson stated it was unlikely the appeals will change the outcome.^[24]

Official final results, after recounting by The High Electoral Commission were shared on November 30.^[25]

The Kurdistan Democratic Party, which ran independently rather than as part of a multi-party coalition list, won an updated preliminary total of 33 seats, making it Iraq's single largest political party.^[23][26]

The Alliance Towards Reforms won 73 seats, with the Progress Party winning 37, the State of Law Coalition winning 34, the Kurdistan Democratic Party with 32, the Fatah Alliance winning 17 seats, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan gaining 16 seats, the Azem Alliance with 12 seats, while the Emtidad Movement and the New Generation Movement received nine seats each, and political independents gained 40 seats.^[27]

As for the seats reserved for minorities, the Babylon Movement won 4 seats out of 5 reserved for Christians, while 1 seat was gained by an independent candidate. The Yazidi single seat was won by the Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress. Likewise, one seat each reserved for the Yezidi and Shabak communities were won by Nayef Khalaf Sido of the Yezidi Progress Party, and independent candidate Waad Mahmoud Ahmed respectively.^[28]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	885,310	10.00	73	+19
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	781,670	8.83	31	+6
	Progress Party	637,198	7.20	37	New
	State of Law Coalition	502,188	5.67	33	+8
	Fatah Alliance	462,800	5.23	17	–31
	Azem Alliance	421,579	4.76	14	New
	Kurdistani Coalition	368,226	4.16	17	–1
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	359,876	4.06	4	–38
	Emtidad Movement	299,303	3.38	9	New
	National Contract Alliance	235,726	2.66	4	New
	New Generation Movement	233,834	2.64	9	+5
	Tasmim Alliance	153,614	1.73	5	New
	National Approach Alliance	107,600	1.22	1	New
	Ishraq Kanoon	100,374	1.13	6	New
	Rights Movement	99,503	1.12	1	New
	Eqtadar Watan Party	73,210	0.83	1	New
	Kurdistan Justice Group	64,025	0.72	1	New
	Our People are Our Identity	58,089	0.66	3	New
	Babylon Movement	50,378	0.57	4	+2
	National Party of the Masses	49,443	0.56	1	–1
	Iraqi Turkmen Front	48,422	0.55	1	–2
	Iraqi National Project	45,197	0.51	1	New
	Al Furatain Party	39,500	0.45	1	New
	National Product Party	35,891	0.41	1	New
	Wasit Independents Bloc	30,918	0.35	1	New
	Decisive Reform Movement	26,973	0.30	3	New
	Arab Coalition of Kirkuk	26,414	0.30	1	–2
	Loyalty and Change Bloc	15,241	0.17	1	New
	National Hopes Bloc	15,140	0.17	1	New
	The Nation's Party	12,266	0.14	1	New
	Biladi National Movement	8,384	0.09	1	New
	National Support Bloc	6,515	0.07	1	New
	Yazidi Progress Party	3,988	0.05	1	0
	Other parties	908,438	10.26	0	–
	Independents	1,686,792	19.05	43	–
Total		8,854,025	100.00	329	0
Registered voters/turnout		22,116,368	–
Source: Full IHEC data

By governorate[]

Baghdad Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	314,748	21.44	27	+10
	State of Law Coalition	166,125	11.31	13	+4
	Al Takadum Movement	131,960	8.99	11	–
	Azem Alliance	116,408	7.93	7	–
	Fatah Alliance	72,987	4.97	3	—7
	Rights Movement	35,029	2.39	1	–
	Ishraq Kanoon	20,281	1.38	1	–
	Al Furatain Party	14,041	0.96	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	64,815	4.41	0	—8
	Other parties	349,730	23.82	–	–
	Independents	182,126	12.40	5	–
Total		1,468,250	100.00	69	–
Registered voters/turnout		5,793,605	25.3%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Anbar Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Al Takadum Movement	201,439	46.16	10	−
	Azem Alliance	77,097	17.67	1	–
	National Contract Alliance	18,483	4.24	0	–
	National Will Party	13,632	3.12	0	–
	Other parties	34,155	7.83	–	–
	Independents	91,587	20.99	4	–
Total		436,393	100.00	15	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,091,644	40.0%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Babil Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	State of Law Coalition	35,597	6.78	3	+1
	Sadrist Movement	59,589	11.34	2	−2
	Fatah Alliance	43,522	8.29	2	−2
	Emtidad Movement	39,338	7.49	2	–
	Ishraq Kanoon	22,159	4.22	2	–
	Loyalty and Change Bloc	15,241	2.90	1	–
	Al Takadum Movement	10,560	2.01	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	48,484	9.23	0	−3
	Other parties	97,646	18.59	–	–
	Independents	153,158	29.16	4	–
Total		525,294	100.00	17	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,281,860	41.0%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Basrah Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	78,657	12.33	9	+4
	Tasmim Alliance	108,044	16.94	5	–
	Fatah Alliance	45,189	7.08	3	−3
	State of Law Coalition	41,594	6.52	1	−3
	National Contract Alliance	39,759	6.23	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	36,104	5.66	1	−4
	National Approach Alliance	28,639	4.49	1	–
	National Support Alliance	6,515	1.02	1	–
	Biladi National Movement	4,866	0.76	1	–
	Other parties	130,566	20.47	–	–
	Independents	117,887	18.48	2	–
Total		637,820	100.00	25	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,887,231	33.8%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Dhi Qar Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	75,645	15.38	9	+3
	Emtidad Movement	152,761	31.05	5	–
	State of Law Coalition	42,572	8.65	4	+1
	Fatah Alliance	28,649	5.82	0	−5
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	22,727	4.62	0	−3
	Other parties	98,970	20.12	–	–
	Independents	70,672	14.36	1	–
Total		491,996	100.00	19	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,312,275	37.5%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Diyala Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Azem Alliance	94,926	19.75	4	–
	Al Takadum Movement	68,268	14.20	4	–
	Fatah Alliance	72,685	15.12	3	0
	Kurdistani Coalition	21,722	4.52	1	0
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	27,393	5.70	0	–1
	State of Law Coalition	23,367	4.86	0	0
	Other parties	88,376	18.38	–	–
	Independents	83,965	17.47	2	–
Total		480,702	100.00	14	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,074,442	44.7%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Dohuk Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	261,543	61.36	8	–2
	Kurdistani Coalition	25,040	5.87	1	+1
	Babylon Movement	13,630	3.20	1	+1
	New Generation Movement	19,292	4.53	0	–
	Other parties	18,561	4.35	–	–
	Independents	88,191	20.69	2	+2
Total		426,257	100.00	12	0
Registered voters/turnout		822,703	51.8%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Erbil Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	261,518	55.98	10	+2
	New Generation Movement	78,765	16.86	3	+1
	Kurdistani Coalition	69,958	14.97	2	0
	Other parties	40,432	8.65	–	–
	Independents	16,514	3.53	1	–
Total		467,187	100.00	16	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,238,379	37.7%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Karbala Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	51,005	17.35	4	+1
	State of Law Coalition	34,267	11.66	2	0
	Ishraq Kanoon	27,359	9.31	2	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	16,639	5.66	1	−1
	National Hopes Movement	12,589	4.28	1	–
	National Product Party	1,730	0.59	1	–
	Fatah Alliance	21,532	7.32	0	−3
	Other parties	101,842	34.65	–	–
	Independents	26,994	9.18	0	–
Total		293,957	100.00	11	–
Registered voters/turnout		770,838	38.1%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Kirkuk Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kurdistani Coalition	63,371	15.41	2	–4
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	49,631	12.07	2	+2
	Iraqi Turkmen Front	45,753	11.13	1	–2
	Al Takadum Movement	42,290	10.29	1	–
	Arab Coalition of Kirkuk	26,414	6.42	1	–2
	New Generation Movement	25,409	6.18	1	+1
	National Contract Alliance	10,255	2.49	1	–
	Fatah Alliance	7,731	1.88	1	+1
	Other parties	35,733	8.69	–	–
	Independents	104,560	25.43	2	–
Total		411,147	100.00	12	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,011,928	40.6%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Maysan Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	105,275	38.76	7	+2
	State of Law Coalition	32,639	12.02	2	+1
	Fatah Alliance	27,667	10.19	0	−2
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	18,680	6.88	0	−1
	Other parties	33,023	12.16	–	–
	Independents	54,312	20.00	1	–
Total		271,596	100.00	10	–
Registered voters/turnout		763,140	35.6%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Muthanna Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	State of Law Coalition	31,691	15.79	3	+2
	Sadrist Movement	17,665	8.80	2	0
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	28,389	14.14	1	0
	Fatah Alliance	6,681	3.33	0	−2
	Other parties	71,553	35.64	–	–
	Independents	44,770	22.30	1	–
Total		200,749	100.00	7	–
Registered voters/turnout		527,555	38.1%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Najaf Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	68,140	20.16	5	+1
	State of Law Coalition	29,170	8.63	2	+1
	Emtidad Movement	30,494	9.02	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	28,689	8.49	0	−3
	Fatah Alliance	21,612	6.39	0	−3
	Other parties	78,937	23.35	–	–
	Independents	80,970	23.95	4	–
Total		338,012	100.00	12	–
Registered voters/turnout		946,853	35.7%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Nineveh Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	136,990	17.12	9	+3
	Al Takadum Movement	123,080	15.39	8	–
	Decisive Reform Movement	26,973	3.37	3	–
	National Contract Alliance	54,730	6.84	2	–
	Kurdistani Coalition	30,538	3.82	2	+1
	Azem Alliance	58,831	7.35	1	–
	National Party of the Masses	33,837	4.23	1	−1
	Fatah Alliance	33,734	4.22	1	−2
	Iraqi National Project	10,546	1.32	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	18,950	2.37	0	−7
	Other parties	84,110	10.51	–	–
	Independents	187,672	23.46	3	–
Total		799,991	100.00	31	–
Registered voters/turnout		2,330,632	34.3%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Al Qadisiyyah Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	33,406	10.75	3	0
	State of Law Coalition	31,515	10.15	2	+1
	Fatah Alliance	29,193	9.40	2	−1
	Ishraq Kanoon	16,880	5.43	1	–
	Emtidad Movement	15,726	5.06	1	–
	Eqtadar Watan Party	12,684	4.08	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	23,083	7.43	0	−2
	Other parties	90,728	29.21	–	–
	Independents	57,427	18.49	1	–
Total		310,642	100.00	11	–
Registered voters/turnout		815,737	38.1%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Saladin Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Our People are Our Identity	58,089	13.62	3	–
	Al Takadum Movement	56,863	13.33	2	–
	Azem Alliance	71,284	16.71	1	–
	Fatah Alliance	33,956	7.96	1	−1
	Kurdistani Coalition	12,334	2.89	1	+1
	The Nation's Party	12,266	2.88	1	–
	State of Law Coalition	12,990	3.05	0	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	3,126	0.73	0	−2
	Other parties	74,050	17.36	–	–
	Independents	91,616	21.48	3	–
Total		426,574	100.00	12	–
Registered voters/turnout		957,291	44.6%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Sulaymaniyah Governorate[]

These results include Halabja Governorate.

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Kurdistani Coalition	141,660	36.08	8	0
	New Generation Movement	106,318	27.08	5	+3
	Kurdistan Democratic Party	54,891	13.98	2	+1
	Kurdistan Justice Group	44,639	11.37	1	–
	Other parties	5,166	1.32	–	–
	Independents	39,993	10.18	2	–
Total		392,667	100.00	18	–
Registered voters/turnout		1,425,705	27.5%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Wasit Governorate[]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Sadrist Movement	56,364	16.20	5	+2
	Wasit Independents Bloc	30,918	8.89	1	–
	Alliance of Nation State Forces	18,627	5.35	1	−1
	Fatah Alliance	17,584	5.05	1	−1
	State of Law Coalition	16,250	4.67	1	0
	Other parties	86,085	24.74	–	–
	Independents	122,120	35.10	3	–
Total		347,948	100.00	12	–
Registered voters/turnout		855,861	41.0%
Source: Rudaw,[29] IHEC

Government formation[]

The government formation process is still underway.

On 18 November Muqtada al-Sadr said he would like to form a majority government.^[30]

On January 9, the newly elected parliament met for the first time in the Green Zone to elect the parliament speaker and two deputies. After a chaotic first parliamentary session which resulted in senior interim parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashahadani falling ill and being taken to hospital.^[31] However, after that Sunni lawmaker and current parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi was re-elected for a second term,^[32] with Shakhawan Abdulla, from the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Hakim Zamili, from the Sadrist Movement.^[33] The Kurdistan Democratic Party, Sadrist Movement and Progress Party (Iraq) succeeded in fulfulling all three positions due to the candidates of each bloc voting for eachother.^[33] This resulted in the Shiite Pro-iran factions in parliament disregard the outcome and claim they have 88 seats,^[34] and more than the Sadrist Movement. Parliament was then temporarily suspended but later was able to resume again after a review by the Iraqi Supreme Court.^[35]

According to the Constitution of Iraq a president must be selected before 30 days after the election of the parliament speaker.^[36] Incumbent President Barham Salih was chosen by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to run for a potential second term as presdient, while the Kurdistan Democratic Party selected former foreign minister Hoshyar Zebari to run for the post, a second attempt for the presidency for the Kurdistan Democratic Party.^[36]

Notes[]

References[]