Europe Asia News

An estimated 1.3 million military and security personnel, along with around 26,000 displaced people, are eligible to vote.

A total of 7,744 candidates are competing, most representing sectarian-based parties. Election day has been set for Tuesday.

The election, which will determine whether Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani wins a second term, comes amid fears of a new conflict between Israel and Iran and Iraq’s efforts to balance its relations with both Tehran and Washington.

The Yazidis, who fled their homes more than a decade ago after ISIS attacks, voted in a camp near Dohuk in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Many still cannot return home due to political disputes and lack of infrastructure.

In Iraq’s capital, alongside soldiers and police, members of the Popular Mobilization Forces — a coalition of mostly Shiite, Iran-backed militias formed to fight ISIS — also cast their votes. Although officially brought under Iraqi army control in 2016, the coalition continues to operate with significant autonomy in practice.