The provincial councils were created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. They hold significant power, including setting budgets for several key sectors such as education and health, but are accused of being rife with corruption.
The vote will take place across 15 Iraqi provinces, excluding the three Kurdistan Region provinces in the north.
Former Iraqi prime minister and Leader of the State of Law Coalition Nouri al-Maliki said the provincial councils address the imbalances in the provinces and called on everyone to partake in the vote.
“The local elections are held with great will and determination, and local governments will move towards construction and reconstruction projects,” he told a press conference after casting his vote. “Boycotting the elections does not produce results.”
Prominent Shiite cleric and leader of Iraq’s National Wisdom Movement Ammar al-Hakim praised the country’s electoral commission for its role in carrying out the elections and called on citizens to vote.
“We encourage citizens to attend and participate in the elections,” he said.
Over 7,000 polling stations opened at 7:00 am on Monday morning under tight security, and the stations will close at 6:00 pm.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani returned to Baghdad on Sunday evening after a Kuwait trip to pay condolences for the death of late Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and cast his vote in a polling station on Monday morning.
The vote is expected to strengthen the power of pro-Iran forces in the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed Shiite factions, after a poor performance in Iraq’s 2021 parliamentary elections.
Despite a lackluster performance, the Coordination Framework went on to form the Iraqi government over a year later, after a suffocating political deadlock had engulfed the country with opposing Shiite powers unable to reach a compromise to form the government.
The government was formed after the Framework’s main opponent, political heavyweight and influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, ordered his 73 MPs to resign and gave Iran-backed parties a clear pathway to successfully form a government, which they did and elected Sudani as prime minister.
This time around, Sadr has joined the opposition and is boycotting the vote.
The elections will mark the return of the Sainte-Laguë voting method, a controversial system that uses the single-constituency per province system instead of the multiple-constituency system that was adopted for the 2021 parliamentary elections as part of the demands of the Tishreen protesters.
The parliamentary election in 2021 saw a record low turnout as many voters were disillusioned with the democratic process and had little trust in Iraq’s political system.
