Iraq’s electoral commission released the final results of the provincial council election on Thursday. With all the votes tallied, the total seats won by the main parties and coalitions are as follows:
Nabni Alliance (Ameri) 43
State of Law (Maliki) 35
State Forces (Hakim/Abadi) 24
Taqadum (Halbusi) 21
Siyada (Khanjar) 13
Tasmim (Aydani) 12
Azm (Samarraie) 9
Abshir Ya Iraq (Hamudi) 9
Hasm (Abbasi) 8
PUK (Talabani) 6
KDP (Barzani) 5
*Note: These numbers do not include the seats won in provinces where the coalitions were reconfigured. For instance, in Diyala, the Coordination Framework ran together and won 4 seats, which are likely all tied to Badr.
Only six electoral slates won more than 10 seats in total. The political map at the local level is now far less fragmented than at the national level because the amended electoral system made it harder for the smaller parties to win seats. There are an average of 7 parties or coalitions represented in each provincial council. Missan province is the most cohesive with only 4 parties, while Baghdad and Ninewa are the most fragmented, with 11 parties in each council.
In most of the provinces, no single party or coalition dominates the council, with the exception of Anbar, where Halbusi and his allies hold 11 out of 16 seats; Basra, where Governor Aydani’s party holds 12 out of 23 seats; Karbala, where Governor Khitabi’s party holds 7 out of 13 seats; and Wasit, where Governor Mayahi’s party holds 7 out of 15 seats.
Nabni Alliance is the clear winner of this election and benefited most from the Sadrist boycott. However, Nabni is a broad coalition and it is not yet clear what proportion of these seats belong to Badr vs. Asaib Ahl Al-Haq. In contrast, State of Law is a more cohesive coalition, and this will give Maliki an added advantage when it comes to negotiating how the governorships are divvied up within the Coordination Framework.
Humam Hamudi’s Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) has reemerged as a small but significant party after winning 9 seats in total.
Taqadum won a total of 21 seats but Halbusi enjoys alliances with other smaller slates that won seats, bringing his total to just under 30 seats. In contrast, his Sunni rivals from Siyada, Azm and Hasm picked up a combined total of 30 seats.
Of the new parties that emerged in the 2021 election, only Ishraqat Kanun was able to consolidate its gains by securing 5 provincial council seats across 4 provinces. However, Tahaluf al-Qiyam al-Madani, which is a recalibrated alliance of Tishreen-aligned parties was able to secure 5 seats across 3 provinces. Additionally, Mandalawi’s Asas Coalition, which is mostly made up of independent MPs that are aligned with the Coordination Framework, was able to pick up 6 seats.