Iraq’s election turnout tops 55% as more than 12 million cast ballots, IHEC says

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission announced late Tuesday that voter turnout in the 2025 parliamentary elections exceeded 55%, with more than 12 million Iraqis participating across the country.

The commission said that after processing 99.7% of polling station data, turnout in the general ballot reached 54%, with 10,989,327 voters casting ballots out of 20,063,773 registered.

For the special voting held November 9 for members of the armed forces and displaced persons, 1,084,289 security personnel voted out of 1,313,980 registered, a turnout of 82%. Another 20,527 displaced voters participated out of 26,538 registered, yielding a turnout of 77%.

Combined, the two phases brought the total number of voters to 12,003,143 out of 21,404,291 registered, producing an overall turnout slightly above 55%, according to the commission.

The electoral commission calculates turnout based on the number of registered voters who hold biometric voting cards, not the total number of eligible citizens, meaning actual participation among the wider electorate is lower than the official percentage.

Polling stations nationwide closed at 6 p.m. Tuesday when voting machines automatically shut down to prevent further balloting. Counting began immediately afterward, both electronically and manually, to confirm matching results across all systems.

More than 8,700 polling centers and 39,000 individual stations opened nationwide at 7 a.m., staffed by 235,000 election workers. Roughly 20 million Iraqis were eligible to vote for 7,768 candidates competing for seats in the Council of Representatives.

Earlier in the day, the commission reported 23.9% turnout by midday, with 4.8 million votes cast, and said the process proceeded smoothly without major disruptions.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani hailed the election as “a step forward toward greater stability and progress,” thanking Iraqis for their participation and expressing hope that the results would strengthen the country’s democratic governance.