FILES: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani casts his ballot at a polling station in Baghdad during Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections on November 11.
Parliament confirms that PM Al-Sudani has declined to take up seat
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s parliament on Monday sent an official letter to the Independent High Electoral Commission saying Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has apologized for not taking the constitutional oath, citing his desire to remain in his current role as head of the caretaker government.
Al-Sudani led the Reconstruction and Development Coalition in Baghdad in the Nov. 11, 2025, parliamentary elections.
The letter asked the electoral commission to provide “the name of the alternative candidate,” in accordance with the law.
It is common in Iraq for senior officials and prominent politicians to run in parliamentary elections to bolster party lists or demonstrate popular support, then decline to assume their seats.
Under Iraqi electoral procedures, candidates who decline to take up their seats before the first session are replaced by the next eligible candidate on the same list.
In the Nov. 11, 2025, parliamentary election, al-Sudani’s Reconstruction and Development Coalition won 46 seats, followed by Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition with 29.