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2018 Iraqi parliamentary election

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2018 Iraqi parliamentary election
← 2014 12 May 2018 (2018-05-12) 2021 →
All 329 seats in the Council of Representatives
165 seats needed for a majority
Turnout44.52% (Decrease 17.48 pp)[1]
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Muqtada al-Sadr Hadi Al-Amiri Haider al-Abadi
Party
Parties
Parties
Parties
Alliance Saairun Fatah Alliance Victory Alliance
Last election 34 – –
Seats won 54 48 42
Seat change Increase 20
(from the Al-Ahrar Bloc) 		New New
Popular vote 1,493,542 1,366,789 1,133,912
Percentage 14.38% 13.16% 10.92%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Nechirvan Barzani Nouri al-Maliki Ayad Allawi
Party Kurdistan Democratic Party
Parties
Parties
Alliance None State of Law Al-Wataniya
Last election 25 92 21
Seats won 25 25 21
Seat change Steady Decrease 67 Steady
Popular vote 873,645 725,108 623,594
Percentage 8.41% 6.98% 6.01%
  Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party
 
Leader Ammar al-Hakim Kosrat Rasul Ali Osama al-Nujaifi
Party
Parties
 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Parties
Alliance National Wisdom Movement None Uniters for Reform
Last election 29 21 23
Seats won 19 18 14
Seat change Decrease 10
(from Al-Muwatin-ISCI) 		Decrease 3 Decrease 9
Popular vote 547,223 616,232 368,633
Percentage 5.27% 5.93% 3.55%
Colours denote which list won the most votes in every governorate
Prime Minister before election

Haider al-Abadi
Victory Alliance

Prime Minister-designate

Adil Abdul-Mahdi
Independent

Parliamentary elections were held in Iraq on 12 May 2018.[4] The elections decided the 329 members of the Council of Representatives, the country's unicameral legislature, who in turn will elect the Iraqi president and prime minister.[5] The Iraqi parliament ordered a manual recount of the results on 6 June 2018.[6] On 10 June 2018, a storage site in Baghdad housing roughly half of the ballots from the May parliamentary election caught fire.[7]

In October 2018, Adil Abdul-Mahdi was selected as prime minister five months after the elections.

This election would be the last held under the Webster/Sainte-Laguë method of proportional representation, as electoral reforms passed in 2019 amid the 2019–2021 Iraqi protests created a district-based system, and sought to have representatives represent more local voices (as opposed to the entire governorate they were previously elected from), reduce deadlocks resulting from inconclusive coalition talks, as well as stop infighting amongst list members and a myriad of small lists from siphoning off votes and failing to meet the electoral threshold. It would also prevent parties from running on unified lists, which had previously led some to easily sweep all the seats in a particular governorate.

Background

The elections took place six months after a non-binding independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, in which 93% voted in favour of independence. In retaliation, the Iraqi government led by Haider al-Abadi closed Erbil International Airport, seized control of all border crossings between Kurdistan and neighbouring countries and, with the help of the Hashd al-Shaabi militias, militarily seized control of disputed territories, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Nonetheless, Iraqi politicians called for dialogue with the Iraqi Kurdistan government and force them to formally annul the results.[8]

The elections were originally scheduled for September 2017, but were delayed by six months due to the civil war with the Islamic State which ended in December 2017 with the recapture of their remaining territories. The largest Sunni Arab majority coalition, the Muttahidoon (Uniters for Reform), called for a further six month's delay to allow displaced voters to return to their homes.[9] A Sunni Arab MP described holding the elections at this time as a "military coup against the political process".[10] However, the Supreme Court ruled that delaying the elections would be unconstitutional.[11]

Electoral system

Members of the Council of Representatives are elected through the open list form of party-list proportional representation, using the 18 governorates of Iraq as the constituencies. The counting system uses the modified Sainte-Laguë method with a divisor of 1.7[12] which is considered as a disadvantage to smaller parties.[13] Eight seats remain reserved for minority groups at the national level: five for Assyrians and one each for Mandaeans, Yazidis, and Shabaks.[14][15] However, the Council of Representatives voted on 11 February 2018, to add an extra seat for minorities, in the Wasit Governorate for Feyli Kurds, making the total number of parliamentarians equal to 329.[citation needed]

In January, the Supreme Court ruled that the representation for Yazidis should be increased, although it is unclear whether this change will be implemented in time for these elections.[16]

International voting

Holding Iraqi parliamentary elections in Tehran

The Independent High Electoral Commission announced that Iraqis living outside of Iraq can vote in any of the 130 voting stations that were set up in 21 countries. 18 of the stations were in the United States, 15 in Sweden, 15 in Turkey, 14 in Iran, 13 in Jordan, 8 in the United Kingdom, 8 in Australia, 7 in Germany, 7 in Canada, 5 in Egypt, 4 in Denmark, 2 in Lebanon, and one each in France, Syria, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Norway, and New Zealand.[17]

Election day

Iraqi president Fuad Masum shows his inked finger after casting a ballot at the central polling station in the Green Zone of Baghdad, capital of Iraq, May 12, 2018.

A curfew was declared by prime minister Al-Abadi from midnight Friday to 7 pm Saturday in all governorates except Baghdad, where the curfew started at noon Friday.[18] A 24-hour closure of all airports and other border crossing was also implemented. The Iraqi airspace was open later on the day as well as the lifting of the curfew.[19] Election day in Iraq was extremely successful from a security aspect, as no attacks were registered anywhere in the country.[20]

Seat allocation

Seats are allocated to governorates as follows:

Governorate Seats Women minorities
Anbar 15 4
Babil 17 4
Baghdad 71 17 2
Basra 25 6
Dohuk 12 3 1
Dhi Qar 19 5
Diyala 14 4
Erbil 16 4 1
Karbala 11 3
Kirkuk 13 3 1
Maysan 10 3
Muthanna 7 2
Najaf 12 3
Nineveh 34 8 3
Al-Qadisiyyah 11 3
Saladin 12 3
Sulaymaniyah 18 5
Wasit 12 3 1
Total 329 83 9

Source:[21]

Campaign

Supporters of Sadr's alliance in Liberation Square, Baghdad celebrating after a successful election campaign

A total of 6,904 candidates participated in the elections, representing parties:[22][23]

Governorate Number of Candidates
Anbar 383
Babil 338
Baghdad 1,985
Basra 522
Duhok 115
Dhi Qar 279
Diyala 259
Erbil 173
Karbala 197
Kirkuk 291
Maysan 105
Muthanna 102
Najaf 244
Nineveh 907
Al-Qadisiyyah 191
Saladin 332
Sulaymaniyah 211
Wasit 180
Minorities 90
Total 6,904

Alliances

As of 26 December 2017, a total of 204 parties had registered to contest the elections.[24] The deadline for registering coalitions was 11 January 2018.[25] A total of 27 coalitions were registered by the deadline, grouping 143 political parties, with registered parties not part of a coalition also free to contest separately.[26]

The ruling State of Law Coalition, which won the last election in 2014 with 92 seats, contested the election with two separate coalitions. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi entered the election as head of a coalition called "Victory" (a reference to the victory over Daesh); his predecessor, Vice President Nouri al-Maliki, headed the State of Law list.[27][28] Members of the Dawa Party, which they both come from, were free to support either list.[29]

Leading members of the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), mainly Shiite Arab militias who fought alongside the Iraqi army to defeat Daesh from 2014 to 2017, formed an alliance to contest the election. The Fatah Alliance included the Badr Organisation, Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, Kata'ib Hezbollah and Kata'ib al-Imam Ali—all key components of the Hashd. The Badr Organisation, headed by Hadi Al-Amiri, which had 22 seats, was previously part of the ruling State of Law Coalition from which it announced its withdrawal in December 2017.[30][31] The Fatah Alliance agreed to run jointly with al-Abadi's Nasr al-Iraq (Victory of Iraq) list, but the agreement fell apart after only 24 hours, reportedly over Abadi's conditions.[32][33]

Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Citizen Alliance, the third largest bloc in parliament, announced in July 2017 that he was leaving the veteran Shiite Islamist party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq -– which he had led since the death of his father, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim –- and forming a new "non-Islamic national movement" called the National Wisdom Movement (al-Hikma). All but five of the 29 MPs from the Citizens Alliance joined Al-Hikma.[34] The remaining members of the Citizen Alliance joined the Fatah Alliance.[35]

Muqtada al-Sadr announced a joint list with the Iraqi Communist Party, called the Alliance towards Reforms. This built on previous collaboration with the Communists since 2016, when they held joint protests in Baghdad against corruption and sectarianism in government.[25][36]

Kurdistan Region

Within the Kurdish parties, there had been significant changes since the previous election with the death of both Jalal Talabani, the long-time leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the second largest party, and the opposition leader Nawshirwan Mustafa. In September 2017, Barham Salih, a former prime minister of Iraqi Kurdistan and deputy leader of the PUK, announced that he was leaving the party and forming a new opposition party—the Coalition for Democracy and Justice. The party was seen to have the potential to change the Kurdish political landscape. He said he hoped to gather all the other opposition parties, including Gorran and Komal, to challenge the governing KDP–PUK alliance.[37] The three parties formed a coalition called Nishtiman (Homeland) to run in the elections.[25] The ruling KDP–PUK alliance have agreed to run again as a single list and all the Kurdish parties in Kirkuk have discussed running as a single list.[38] However, the KDP announced they would boycott elections in Kirkuk and other areas they described as "under military occupation".[39]

Sunni-majority areas

Within the Sunni Arab parties, the main Uniters for Reform Coalition (Muttahidoon), led by Osama al-Nujaifi, which won 23 seats in 2014, is running again, although the Iraqi Islamic Party, led by Speaker of Parliament Salim Jabouri, has left this coalition to join up with former prime minister Ayad Allawi's Al-Wataniya and Salah al-Mutlak's Al-Arabiya. The combined list was called Al-Wataniya. Other parties as well have left the Muttahidoon coalition including the al-Hal Party and formed various alliances in the name of the provinces they ran in, such as Salahuddin Our Identity in Saladin Governorate, and Anbar Our Identity in Al Anbar Governorate and Baghdad Alliance in Baghdad.[40][citation needed]

Civil parties

Within the nonsectarian parties who aim to establish a civil state, the main alliance formed is the Civilized Alliance,[41][42] led by Faiq Al Sheikh Ali, which currently has 4 seats. The alliance consists of four liberal, non-sectarian, national parties, the People's Party for Reform, the Al-Etifak National Party, the National Civil Movement and Iraq's National Movement, and includes a number of independent figures. The Civil Democratic Alliance are also running in the elections as another major civil party.[43]

Christian parties

Of the 329 seats in parliament, five are reserved for the country's Christian minority. One reserved seat is allotted for each of five governorates: Baghdad, Duhok, Erbil, Kirkuk and Nineveh.[44] At the time of voting, only about 200,000 Christians remained in the country.[45]

Attacks

In early May 2018, ISIL claimed to have assassinated Faruq Zarzur al-Juburi, a candidate in the Iraqi elections. The attack reportedly took place in Mosul, outside al-Juburi's house.[46] This was later on proven to be false; due to a family dispute, the candidate was killed by his son.[47]

On election day, a roadside bomb in Kirkuk killed six members of Tribal Mobilization (ar) (a pro-government Sunni tribal force) and injured three police officers.[48]

One Iraqi border guard was killed by a bomb in the outskirts of Khanaqin in Diyala on 13 May.[49]

Two offices linked to Muqtada al-Sadr in Maysan were bombed on 15 May but there were no casualties since both offices were empty at the time.[50][51] It is still unclear whether the attacks were a response to the parliamentary gains in the election made by Sadr's coalition.[52]

On 16 May, a polling station in Kirkuk was reportedly under siege by gunmen pressuring them to change the results after the PUK was indicated to have won the province.[53]

Results

After the High Electoral Commission announced the results, there were claims of widespread fraud linked to the electronic counting of votes. The Council of Representatives held an emergency session and passed an amendment to the electoral law that cancelled the votes of internally-displaced and overseas voters and mandated a full manual recount for all other votes.

The Commission appealed to the Supreme Court. In a ruling on 21 June, the court upheld the full manual recount but struck down the cancellation of internally-displaced and overseas voters.[54] The final results were released on 9 August, with only minor changes affecting five candidates and two parties.[55]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Alliance Towards Reforms1,493,54214.3854New
Fatah Alliance1,366,78913.1648New
Victory Alliance1,133,91210.9242New
Kurdistan Democratic Party873,6458.41250
State of Law Coalition725,1086.9825–67
Al-Wataniya623,5946.01210
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan616,2325.9318–3
National Wisdom Movement547,2235.2719New
Muttahidoon368,6333.5514–9
Gorran Movement201,7111.945–4
New Generation Movement170,9191.654New
Anbar Is Our Identity144,1821.396New
Eradaa Movement138,3671.333New
Coalition for Democracy and Justice123,1841.192New
Ability Coalition for Change112,9651.092–
Baghdad Alliance98,3540.953–
Kurdistan Islamic Union98,2780.952–2
Kurdistan Islamic Group96,8760.932–1
Arab Alliance of Kirkuk84,1020.813+2
Nineveh Is Our Identity83,1020.803New
Civilized Alliance82,8240.802New
Turkman Front of Kirkuk79,6940.773+1
National Fortress Coalition77,6240.753New
Democratic Approach70,1950.682–
National Party of the Masses54,1350.522–
Banners of Benevolence50,8630.492–
The Passing50,2430.482–
Civic Party32,5840.311–
Saladin Is Our Identity31,9940.311–
Assembly of the Men of Iraq25,8370.251–
Babylon Movement12,4990.122–
Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress11,1410.111–
Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council7,2930.071–1
Civil Democratic Alliance6,5350.061–
Chaldean List4,8640.051–
Rafidain List4,0770.041–1
Others681,3826.562–
Total10,384,502100.00329+1
Valid votes10,384,50295.79
Invalid/blank votes456,4674.21
Total votes10,840,969100.00
Registered voters/turnout24,352,25344.52
Source: IHEC, Xinhua, DW

By governorate

Baghdad Governorate (Including changes after manual recount)

Party Total votes[56] Percentage Seats
Forward (Saairun) 467,029 23.4% 17
Conquest Alliance 264,669 13.3% 10 (Before recount: 9)
State of Law Coalition 237,216 11.9% 9
National Coalition 223,328 11.2% 8
Victory Coalition 216,429 10.8% 8
Arab Decision Alliance 100,560 5% 4
National Wisdom Movement 100,279 5% 4
Baghdad Alliance 98,354 4.9% 3 (Before recount: 4)
Banners of Benevolence 50,863 2.5% 2
Civilized Alliance 35,233 1.8% 1
Democratic Approach 33,160 1.7% 1
Civic Party 32,584 1.6% 1
Movement of the Will 27,582 1.4% 1
Ability Coalition for Change 21,903 1.1% 0
Solidarity (Tadamun) 20,588 1% 0
Others 73,653 3.7% 0
Mandaeans seat 12,447 0.6% 1
Christian seat 1
Total 2,015,877 100% 71

Anbar Governorate

Party Total votes[57] Percentage Seats
Anbar is Our Identity 144,182 35.9% 6
National Coalition 63,076 15.7% 3
Arab Decision Alliance 58,576 14.6% 2
The Passing 50,243 12.5% 2
Victory Coalition 46,513 11.6% 2
Forward (Saairun) 7,684 1.9% 0
Iraq Rescue Council 6,522 1.6% 0
Solidarity (Tadamun) 6,164 1.5% 0
Others 19,197 4.8% 0
Total 402,157 100% 15

Babil Governorate

Party Total votes[58] Percentage Seats
Conquest Alliance 132,421 22.5% 4
Forward (Saairun) 123,001 20.9% 4
Victory Coalition 88,753 15.1% 3
National Wisdom Movement 75,637 12.9% 3
State of Law Coalition 61,726 10.5% 2
Ability Coalition for Change 33,620 5.7% 1
Movement of the Will 23,451 4% 0
National Coalition 17,264 2.9% 0
National Movement of the Majority 14,847 2.5% 0
Solidarity (Tadamun) 5,542 0.9% 0
Civilized Alliance 4,840 0.8% 0
Babylon Movement 1,254 0.2% 0
Mesopotamia Coalition 1,069 0.2% 0
Others 4,578 0.8% 0
Total 588,003 100% 17

Basra Governorate

Party Total votes[59] Percentage Seats
Conquest Alliance 151,616 22.4% 6
Forward (Saairun) 121,103 17.9% 5
Victory Coalition 108,143 16% 5
State of Law Coalition 94,561 14% 4
National Wisdom Movement 57,315 8.5% 2
Assembly of the Men of Iraq 25,837 3.8% 1
Movement of the Will 23,897 3.5% 1
National Coalition 23,274 3.4% 1
Construction and Reform 17,836 2.6% 0
Democratic Coalition for Democracy 11,975 1.8% 0
Party of Revenge of Allah 11,698 1.7% 0
Civilized Alliance 8,002 1.2% 0
Ability Coalition for Change 7,399 1.1% 0
Others 5,728 0.8% 0
Total 676,163 100% 25

Dhi Qar Governorate

Party Total votes[57] Percentage Seats
Forward (Saairun) 157,763 28.6% 6
Conquest Alliance 118,991 21.5% 5
State of Law Coalition 83,789 15.2% 3
Victory Coalition 81,575 14.8% 3
National Wisdom Movement 56,361 10.2% 2
Movement of the Will 20,024 3.6% 0
National Coalition 13,577 2.5% 0
Others 20,279 3.7% 0
Total 552,359 100% 19

Diyala Governorate

Party Total votes[60] Percentage Seats
Conquest Alliance 108,601 20.2% 3
Arab Decision Alliance 103,625 19.3% 3
National Coalition 84,213 15.7% 3
Forward (Saairun) 53,923 10% 2
Victory Coalition 38,690 7.2% 1
National Wisdom Movement 29,090 5.4% 1
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 27,416 5.1% 1
Diyala Challenge 26,339 4.9% 0
State of Law Coalition 20,153 3.7% 0
Solidarity (Tadamun) 11,929 2.2% 0
Kurdistan Democratic Party 10,326 1.9% 0
Others 23,450 4.4% 0
Total 537,845 100% 14

Dohuk Governorate

Party Total votes[61] Percentage Seats
Kurdistan Democratic Party 353,177 71.4% 10
Kurdistan Islamic Union 43,417 8.9% 1
Coalition for Democracy and Justice 25,656 5.3% 0
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 25,575 5.2% 0
New Generation Movement 18,026 3.7% 0
Rafidain List
Reserved Christian Seat		 4,077 0.8% 1
Movement for Change 3,797 0.8% 0
Kurdistan Islamic Group 3,627 0.7% 0
Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council 3,483 0.7% 0
Others 7,471 1.5% 0
Total 488,306 100% 11(+1)

Erbil Governorate

Party Total votes[62] Percentage Seats
Kurdistan Democratic Party 321,833 50.1% 8
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 79,727 12.4% 2
New Generation Movement 70,848 11% 2
Coalition for Democracy and Justice 50,561 7.9% 1
Movement for Change 40,941 6.4% 1
Kurdistan Islamic Group 36,855 5.7% 1
Kurdistan Islamic Union 24,564 3.8% 0
Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party
Reserved Christian Seat		 2,329 0.4% 1
Others 14,779 2.3% 0
Total 642,437 100% 15(+1)

Karbala Governorate

Party Total votes[63][64] Percentage Seats
Conquest Alliance 76,679 25.2% 3
Forward (Saairun) 74,820 24.6% 3
Victory Coalition 52,674 17.3% 2
State of Law Coalition 39,927 13.1% 2
National Wisdom Movement 20,388 6.7% 1
Ability Coalition for Change 12,261 4% 0
National Coalition 7,646 2.5% 0
Civilized Alliance 6,236 2% 0
New Generation Movement 3,608 1.2% 0
Others 9,969 3.3% 0
Total 304,208 100% 11

Kirkuk Governorate

Party Total vote[65] Percentage Seats
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 183,283 37.8% 6
Arab Alliance of Kirkuk 84,102 17.4% 3
Turkman Front of Kirkuk 79,694 16.4% 3
Victory Coalition 24,328 5% 0
Conquest Alliance 18,427 3.8% 0
National Coalition 14,979 3.1% 0
Nishtiman coalition
Movement for Change
Coalition for Democracy and Justice
Kurdistan Islamic Group		 14,118 2.9% 0
New Generation Movement 13,096 2.7% 0
Chaldean Coalition
Reserved Christian Seat		 4,864 1% 1
Kurdistan Islamic Group 4,631 1% 0
Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council 3,810 0.8% 0
Others 39,286 8.1% 0
Total 484,618 100% 12(+1)

Maysan Governorate

Party Total votes[66][64] Percentage Seats
Forward (Saairun) 134,430 42.8% 5
Conquest Alliance 63,835 20.3% 2
National Wisdom Movement 40,237 12.8% 1
Victory Coalition 36,412 11.6% 1
State of Law Coalition 32,213 10.3% 1
National Coalition 1,972 0.6% 0
New Generation Movement 952 0.3% 0
Others 3,681 1.2% 0
Total 313,732 100% 10

Muthanna Governorate

Party Total votes[67][64] Percentage Seats
Forward (Saairun) 71,058 31% 2
Conquest Alliance 46,363 20.2% 2
Victory Coalition 35,712 15.6% 1
National Wisdom Movement 35,686 15.6% 1
State of Law Coalition 31,051 13.5% 1
Movement of the Will 3,759 1.6% 0
Babylon Movement 1,492 0.7% 0
National Coalition 1,113 0.5% 0
Construction and Reform 920 0.4% 0
Others 2,156 0.9% 0
Total 229,310 100% 7

Najaf Governorate

Party Total votes[68][64] Percentage Seats
Forward (Saairun) 92,219 24.6% 4
Conquest Alliance 83,070 22.1% 3
Victory Coalition 71,971 19.2% 3
National Wisdom Movement 38,163 10.2% 1
State of Law Coalition 37,057 9.9% 1
Movement of the Will 14,883 4% 0
Others 37,779 10.1% 0
Total 375,142 100% 12

Nineveh Governorate

Party Total votes[69] Percentage Seats
Victory Coalition 168,112 17.9% 7
Kurdistan Democratic Party 139,489 14.9% 6
National Coalition 104,025 11.1% 4
Nineveh Is Our Identity 83,102 8.9% 3
Conquest Alliance 75,043 8% 3
Arab Decision Alliance 67,117 7.2% 3
National Party of the Masses 54,135 5.8% 2
Democratic Approach 37,035 3.9% 1
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 32,789 3.5% 1
Civilized Alliance 28,513 3% 1
Solidarity (Tadamun) 14,936 1.6% 0
Independent Qusay Abbas
Shabak Reserved Seat		 14,824 1.6% 1
Yazidi Democratic Party
Yazidi Reserved Seat		 11,141 1.2% 1
Babylon Movement
Christian Reserved Seat		 9,753 1% 1
Others 98,640 10.5% 0
Total 938,654 100% 31(+3)

Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate

Party Total votes[70] Percentage Seats
Conquest Alliance 88,895 24.8% 3
Forward (Saairun) 73,294 20.4% 3
Victory Coalition 59,883 16.7% 2
State of Law Coalition 42,878 12% 1
National Wisdom Movement 42,139 11.8% 1
Movement of the Will 24,771 6.9% 1
Civil Democratic Alliance 6535 1.8% 0
National Coalition 4861 1.4% 0
Others 15,191 4.2% 0
Total 358,447 100% 11

Saladin Governorate

Party Total votes[71] Percentage Seats
National Fortress Coalition 77,624 19.2% 3
Conquest Alliance 64,267 15.9% 2
National Coalition 56,325 13.9% 2
Victory Coalition 50,898 12.6% 2
Arab Decision Alliance 38,755 9.6% 2
Saladin Is Our Identity 31,994 7.9% 1
Iraq's Earth 20,778 5.1% 0
Forward (Saairun) 15,816 3.9% 0
Others 47,562 11.8% 0
Total 404,019 100% 12

Sulaymaniyah Governorate

Party Total votes[72] Percentage Seats
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 267,442 39.4% 8
Movement for Change 156,973 23.1% 4
New Generation Movement 64,389 9.5% 2
Kurdistan Islamic Group 51,763 7.6% 1
Kurdistan Democratic Party 48,820 7.2% 1
Coalition for Democracy and Justice 46,967 6.9% 1
Kurdistan Islamic Union 30,297 4.5% 1
Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party 4,895 0.7% 0
Communist Party of Kurdistan – Iraq 1,792 0.3% 0
Babylonian Movement
Christian Reserved Seat		 1,148 0.2% 1
Others 4,198 0.6% 0
Total 678,684 100% 18(+1)

Wasit Governorate

Party Total votes[73] Percentage Seats
Forward (Saairun) 101,402 25.7% 3
Conquest Alliance 73,912 18.7% 2
Victory Coalition 53,819 13.6% 2
National Wisdom Movement 51,928 13.2% 2
State of Law Coalition 44,537 11.3% 1
Ability Coalition for Change 37,782 9.6% 1
National Coalition 7,941 2% 0
Independent Mazen Abdel Moneim Gomaa
Reserved Feyli Kurdish Seat		 5,078 1.3% 1
Others 18,142 4.6% 0
Total 394,541 100% 11(+1)

Maps

Government formation

Further information: Abdul Mahdi Government

On 8 June 2018, a formal agreement was signed by the leaders of the Alliance towards Reforms (Saairun) and the National Coalition (Wataniya) to become the largest bloc in the Council of Representatives. The bloc is calling for economic reform, consolidation of democracy, and political decentralization. A spokesman for Wataniya said that the agreement would be a prelude to other forces joining the alliance, and that serious talks were underway with the National Wisdom Movement (Hikma), the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Fatah Alliance, and the Decision Alliance (Muttahidoon) as an alliance of these six electoral coalitions would constitute a majority that could form a government.[74]

Al-Sadr announced on 12 June that he had formed an alliance with Fatah, while maintaining an alliance with Al-Wataniya.[75] Prime Minister Abadi later met with Al Sadr on 23 June.[76] Al Sadr afterwards announced he had formed "a cross-sectarian, cross-ethnic alliance" with Abadi and that it would speed up the formation of a new government.[76] Abadi also announced that the new alliance between his Victory Alliance's and Al Sadr's Alliance towards Reforms "is not in contrast to any other alliances either of the two lists have previously entered into with other blocs, rather, it flows in the same direction and same principles."[76]

The final results of the election were announced on 9 August, starting the process to form the government.[55] Parliament convened on 3 September, but were unable to elect a speaker due to rivalries between two blocs who both claimed to be the largest coalition, entitled to nominate the prime minister. Al-Abadi presented an alliance with Saairun, Wataniya, Hikma and other smaller lists who between then held a majority of seats. However, Fatah also claimed to have a majority, based on an alliance with State of Law and with members of Abadi's coalition who had defected.[77]

Two weeks later parliament reconvened and elected a speaker in a secret ballot, with candidates from each of the rival blocs. Muhammad al-Halbusi, a Sunni Arab (as per the Iraqi tradition of muḥāṣaṣah) but backed by Fatah was elected.[78]

At the same time, violent protests occurred in Basra and other cities in the south over polluted water—which had hospitalised tens of thousands of people—and the lack of reliable electricity. Religious leaders called for a new prime minister who hadn't been in government before. Abadi announced on 13 September 2018 that he would respect this call and not run for a second term as prime minister.[79]

The vote for the president took place on 2 October. Previously, the president had always been a member of the second-largest Kurdish party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, under an agreement with the Kurdistan Democratic Party whereby the KDP would be president of Iraqi Kurdistan. However, the KDP fielded a separate candidate, Fuad Hussein, insisting that they had the right to the Presidency as the largest party. Both candidates went to a vote in the parliament, with the PUK's Barham Salih winning. He immediately nominated independent Shi'ite Adil Abdul-Mahdi, a former oil minister seen as acceptable to all parties and to both Iran and the United States, as prime minister-designate.[80]

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