More than 21 million citizens are eligible to vote, though turnout is expected to fall below the 41% recorded in 2021—the lowest since elections began. 

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and will remain open for 11 hours. Preliminary results are expected within 24 hours. Despite the calm, skepticism dominates. “Every four years it’s the same. We don’t see young faces or new energy,” said university student Al Hasan Yasin. 

Over 7,740 candidates, nearly a third of them women, are running for the 329 parliamentary seats. Only 75 are independents, under an electoral law critics say favors major parties and entrenched political elites. 

Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al Sudani is seeking a second term after campaigning on a message of stability and reconstruction.

Having taken office in 2022 backed by a coalition of Shiite factions close to Iran, Sudani has emphasized his success in keeping Iraq relatively insulated from the broader turmoil across the Middle East. 

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s power structure has followed a sectarian balance: a Shiite as prime minister, a Sunni as parliament speaker, and a Kurd in the largely ceremonial presidency.

Yet persistent corruption, poor infrastructure, and limited job opportunities continue to undermine public trust. 

As Iraq moves toward what could be a defining political chapter, these elections serve as a key test of its fragile democracy and the patience of its citizens with a political class that has long promised—but rarely delivered—real change.