Iraq’s governing Shia alliance strengthened in provincial elections

The Iran-aligned coalition wins 101 out of 285 seats, and is boosted before parliamentary elections in 2025.

Iraq’s governing Shia alliance has reportedly emerged as the biggest winner in the country’s provincial elections.

The loose coalition of Shia groups, called the Shia Coalition Framework (CF), took 101 of 285 council seats in the December 18 vote, Iraqi state media reports. The election result is seen as a boon to the Iran-aligned groups, which have been steadily gaining influence, in advance of a parliamentary election scheduled for 2025.

CF already forms the biggest bloc in Iraq’s parliament. The grouping ran three lists in the provincial election, but said they would govern together after the vote, the first such agreement in a decade.

The victory will strengthen the CF’s influence over Iraq’s powerful provincial councils, which are responsible for appointing regional governors and allocating health, transport and education budgets.

The Shia alliance’s top list, which won 43 seats, brings together several of Iraq’s most influential Iran-allied military-political groups, including the Badr Organisation and Asaib Ahl al-Haq.