Now that voters have cast their ballots in Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections, the country is entering the government formation phase, which culminates in the selection of the prime minister and the formation of his cabinet.
Some reports indicate that many Iraqis have become disillusioned with the electoral process because they believe the voting results are of secondary importance. Instead, many judge that the real division of power is determined by the negotiations that are part of government formation and carried out at the elite level without popular involvement. Despite this reported skepticism, the 2025 election saw a relatively high turnout, reaching 56 percent compared to roughly 41 percent in 2021.
The first official step in Iraq’s government formation is the ratification of the election by the Federal Supreme Court, which officially concludes the “electoral phase,” even though voting has already finished.
Before ratification, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) must resolve any complaints about the voting and finalize the results. The window to file complaints began when the polls opened on November 11 and ended at the close of business hours on November 12. The IHEC announced 101 complaints. Of these, 44 were from the special vote on November 9, which is the day security forces and internally displaced people cast their ballots, and 57 were from the regular voting day on November 11. After these complaints are resolved, candidates and parties can file appeals before the Judicial Panel for Elections. Once these appeals are adjudicated, the Federal Supreme Court ratifies the election.
Complaints and legal challenges can delay ratification and, consequently, government formation. In 2021, Iraq’s parliamentary election was held on October 10, but the results were not ratified until the end of December.
Within 15 days of the election’s ratification, the newly elected members of the Council of Representatives, Iraq’s legislative body, hold the first meeting of the term. In this meeting, the body elects the speaker of the Council of Representatives by a majority vote. This position traditionally goes to a Sunni Arab. Following the election of a speaker, the Council of Representatives elects the president of Iraq, the country’s head of state. This position has historically been given to a Kurd, and the vote must achieve a two-thirds majority.
Within 15 days of the president’s election, the new head of state nominates a prime minister-designate to form a government. A Shiite traditionally holds this position, and the individual is chosen through negotiations within the coalition that emerges from the Shiite segment with sufficient support to form a government. The prime minister-designate then has 30 days to select the members of his cabinet. Once each minister has been approved by the Council of Representatives, the government assumes authority.
Despite the provision of a timeline for government formation, these steps can face significant delays as different parties and alliances negotiate for power. Such postponements to government formation can lead to unrest in Iraq.
Preliminary election results
The most consequential position in the Iraqi government is that of the prime minister. The party of current Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al Sudani, the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, won the most votes in this election, approximately 1.3 million. However, this result will not gain Sudani enough seats to independently form a government and guarantee himself a second term.
In the last election, the Coordination Framework (CF) was created by Shiite parties and selected Sudani to be the prime minister. In this year’s election, the parties of the CF ran separately but intend to regroup for the purpose of creating a government.
Nevertheless, Sudani’s prospects for retaining his position are challenged by the fact that he has recently been at odds with members of the CF, and Iraq’s Shafaq News reports that CF leaders are discussing an alliance that would enable them to form the next government without his party. According to Shafaq’s reporting on the preliminary election results, major elements of the CF have likely won 93 seats out of Iraq’s 329 Council of Representatives seats without Sudani. Out of the CF parties, the State of Law Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, and Sadiqoun, the political bloc of US-designated terrorist Qais Khazali, followed Sudani’s party closely in the number of seats won. Sudani won eight of Iraq’s 18 provinces, which earned his party a likely 45 seats.
Iraq’s Sunni and Kurdish segments each had a decisive victor. The Progress Party, led by former Speaker of Parliament Mohammed al Halbousi, dominated the Sunni electoral landscape and is expected to secure roughly 28 seats in parliament. In the Kurdish demographic, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by former President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Masoud Barzani, garnered over 1 million votes, which will likely translate to about 27 seats, according to reporting by the Kurdish Rudaw Media Network. The other main Kurdish party and rival of the KDP, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), received roughly half the votes received by the KDP. New outlets disagreed over whether the Sunni Progress Party or the Kurdish KDP came in second in the overall tally.
