BAGHDAD: Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani claimed victory for his coalition on Wednesday in Iraq’s general election after preliminary results showed it had secured a decisive lead.

Supporters of Sudani, who is vying for a second term, flocked late in the evening to Tahrir Square to celebrate with fireworks, according to AFP correspondents.

Casting the victory as one for all Iraqis in a televised speech, Sudani congratulated the country ‘on your coalition winning first place’ in the parliamentary elections. “Our coalition, ‘Reco­nst­ru­ction and Development’, is first,” Sudani said separately on X, expressing “deep gratitude to the Iraqi people for their support”.

Iraqis went to the polls on Tuesday for a general election that came as the country experienced a rare moment of calm in a region roiled by recent conflicts.

Sudani faces challenge of maintaining delicate balance between country’s allies Iran and US

The next premier must answer to Iraqis seeking jobs, better infrastructure, and improved education and health systems in a country plagued by corruption and mismanagement.

But he also faces the unenviable task of maintaining the delicate balance between Iraq’s allies — arch foes Iran and the United States — made all the more delicate by recent seismic changes in the Middle East.

Iraq’s electoral commission announced preliminary results on Wednesday evening showing Sudani’s candidate list in the lead with more than 1.3 million votes — about 370,000 more than the next closest competitor.

The commission said that more than 12 million people took part out of 21 million eligible voters, despite influential Moqtada Sadr calling on his supporters to boycott the poll.

While vote counts for each list by province were released, seat allocations in parliament will not be announced until later.

An official close to Sudani had told AFP before the count was announced that his list was sailing to “a major victory”.

Another two sources estimated Sudani’s alliance had won the largest bloc, estimating it would take approximately 50 seats out of a total of 329.

Once final results are confirmed, lawmakers are set to begin negotiations to nominate the prime minister — an often painstaking task that has at times taken months.

With an outright majority almost impossible to achieve by any single list, who gets the role is determined by whatever coalition can secure enough post-election partnerships to form the largest alliance.

In Iraq, the prime ministership goes to the Shia majority, the speaker of parliament to a Sunni, and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.

In previous parliaments, Shia-majority parties have struck compromise deals to work together and form a government. Sudani emerged as a major force in Iraqi politics after he was brought to power three years ago by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of powerful pro-Iran parties who formed the largest parliamentary bloc.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2025