Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr urges boycott of 'corrupt' elections as low turnout expected

Polls opened in Iraq on Tuesday amid expectation of low turnout and calls for a boycott by Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

More than 7,740 candidates - nearly a third of them women - are running for the 329 seat parliamentary elections. Preliminary results are expected on Wednesday, though as in previous votes the final confirmation could take several weeks.

Correspondents with AFP reported a low turnout at midday across the country, a situation likely exacerbated by the influental Sadr's call to stay away.

In a statement released on social media on Sunday, the cleric warned against validating an electoral system that would return the same "tried and tested" politicians he has blamed for the country's failures since 2003.

"Electing the tried and tested means the entrenchment of the corrupt and the dominance of the corrupt," he said.

Though the country has been enjoying relative stability compared to most of the period following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, longstanding anger over corruption, failing public services, crumbling infrastructure and a lack of water and electricity has left many Iraqis sceptical of the electoral process.

Politicians loyal to Sadr secured the largest number of seats at the previous election in 2021, which saw the lowest voter turnout since 2003. However, in June 2022 all of Sadr's supporters withdrew from the parliament after a long deadlock over the formation of a new government.

Sadr, and many others in Iraq, have called for the overhaul of the parliamentary process in the country, which has been seen as deeply sectarian and clientalist, with political elites accused of seeking office as a means of creaming off state funds and securing jobs for their followers.

Regional unrest

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani will be seeking to continue in the role, which has generally changed hands following elections and the coalition-building that comes after. Much will depend on the success of the Coordination Framework, an alliance of largely Shia parties that is the dominant force in the government.

The premiere has spent recent years trying to manoeuvre Iraq through regional unrest, including spillover from Israel's genocide in Gaza which has seen air strikes on the country by both Israel and the US, though limited compared to its neighbours.

Both the US and neighbouring Iran are key allies of Iraq and the animosity between the two countries - which erupted into outright conflict earlier this year - has put Sudani in a difficult position.

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A range of armed groups with links to the Coordination Framework have launched attacks on both Israeli and US targets since October 2023 and have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.

In September 2024, Reuters reported that during the Biden administration, US and Iraqi negotiators agreed on a plan to end the American military presence, which just required the sign-off of leaders in Baghdad and Washington.

According to Reuters, the plan called for all US-led coalition forces to leave the Ain al-Asad air base in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.

US troops reportedly began withdrawing from two key Iraqi bases over the summer.

Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose State of Law coalition is the second largest party in the parliament at present, is also seen as a key player in the elections and his bloc has stated its opposition to a second term for Sudani.

Casting his vote on Tuesday, Maliki told reporters that a priority for him was opposing foreign interference in Iraq.

He said the elections were taking place despite “many obstacles and attempts to postpone them" and criticised Sadr's calls for boycott.