Name: Iraqis head to polls in election drawing scrutiny from U.S. and Iran
Uploaded: 2025-11-11T09:22:30.183Z
Duration: 2 min 52 s
Description: Iraqis vote on Tuesday to elect a new parliament in a closely watched poll that comes at a pivotal moment for the country and region. Both Iran and the United States are monitoring the outcome as Iraq, unusually stable in recent years, seeks to move beyond decades of war and repression.

Iraqis vote on Tuesday to elect a new parliament in a closely watched poll that comes at a pivotal moment for the country and region. Both Iran and the United States are monitoring the outcome as Iraq, unusually stable in recent years, seeks to move beyond decades of war and repression.

Baghdad

Iraq, with a population of 46 million, is holding parliamentary elections that are being closely monitored by both the United States and Iran. Over 7,700 candidates are competing for just over 320 seats, but voter turnout is expected to be low due to widespread public skepticism about the potential for change.

Many Iraqis express little faith that the election will address persistent issues such as electricity shortages, unemployment, and lack of water. The country is experiencing a period of relative stability, and there is hope that the new government will continue to balance the interests of both Iran and the U.S. while maintaining domestic calm.

Iraqis head to polls in election drawing scrutiny from U.S. and Iran

A country of 46 million, Iraq, is holding its parliamentary polls this Tuesday, an election that is this year being closely watched by both Iran and the United States, which are both allies of Baghdad. Voter motivation, however, in Iraq, reported to be very low, with fears that turnout could reach in fact record levels of low. Many Iraqis no longer believe elections will bring change to their daily lives, and yet the number of candidates running is quite substantial, over 7,700 people vying for just over 320 seats. Since the fall of Saddam Husseini, Iraq's long-oppressed Shiite majority has dominated, and it's expected to do so, notably by forming coalition groups. However, there are divisions in those ranks as well, with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr calling for a boycott of the vote. To get a clearer picture on it all, we can cross now to Lina Manners in Baghdad. Lina, what can we expect? What are people looking for with this election? Many people here in Baghdad have very little faith that this election will change much in their daily lives. They see it as a negotiation between the same elites that have been ruling the country ever since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. Their demands, there's a lack of electricity, lack of jobs, not even water in some areas of Iraq. These things that they really need in their daily lives, they have little faith that the politicians who will come to power in this election will actually be able to, or have the will, to change them. And meanwhile, Lina, then on an international level, you know, Iraq's election is getting a lot of attention, the United States, Iran, both looking in. Will it change anything on the international field, this vote? What we've seen in Iraq now is a rare period of somehow stability. Iraq has not been drawn into the regional conflict between Iran and Israel, although there are Iran-friendly groups in the country, armed groups that have launched a few rockets previously against Israel, but these groups have stayed calm, and Iraq has not been drawn into this. And the hope here is that this calm will prevail, and it will stay calm, and we will not see Iraq go into the same fate as, for example, Lebanon has done with Hezbollah. So there is hope that this stability will stay and that the next government will keep going this fine line balancing between the interests of Iran and the U.S. that we have seen for the period of Muhammad Shah and Sudan in the past three years. Lina Manor is in Baghdad following that vote for us.

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