Iraq's Shiite ruling coalition secures over 100 seats in provincial councils

Iraqi state media reported on Wednesday, December 20, that the parties forming Iraq's ruling Shiite coalition have secured at least 101 out of 285 seats in the provincial council elections. The provincial council elections in Iraq were held on Monday, December 18. According to Reuters, the 'Coordination Framework of Shiites,' currently the largest independent group in the Iraqi parliament and competing in three different electoral lists, states that after the recent provincial council elections, they will govern alongside other members of this coalition. In these elections, the electoral list of several paramilitary groups aligned with the Islamic Republic, including the Badr Organization and Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, secured the first position with 43 seats, while the list of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came in second with 35 seats. Following them, the coalition of Ammar al-Hakim, a moderate Shiite cleric, and Haider al-Abadi, a former prime minister, obtained 23 seats. According to Reuters, Sajjad Jiad, an Iraqi analyst from the Century Foundation, believes that the victory of some smaller lists affiliated with this coalition indicates that they have secured more than 101 seats. Observers believe that this victory was only made possible by the boycott of the elections by the staunchest rival of these parties and organizations, Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist Shiite cleric. Meanwhile, Mohammad al-Halbousi, the ousted Sunni speaker of parliament, secured 22 seats, and Khamis al-Khanjar, a Sunni business tycoon, obtained 14 seats. The provincial council elections are seen as an indicator of the balance of power in Iraq ahead of the parliamentary elections in 2025, where groups close to the Islamic Republic have consistently increased their influence.