Protests continued in Iraq on Tuesday in opposition to a controversial amendment to the country’s electoral law that critics say will hurt smaller political parties and independents. 

Background: The amendment to Iraq’s Provincial Council Elections Law, which governs regional elections, was first read in parliament in February. The amendment was proposed by the ruling Coordination Framework political bloc that includes Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The amendment adopts the Sainte-Lague method, which is a party-list proportional representation system, to allocate seats in provincial parliaments. It also increases the size of electoral districts and stipulates just one electoral district per province. These rules were in place for Iraq’s last provincial elections in 2013. 

The amendment contrasts with the current law that uses a multiple-circle system to allocate votes to individual candidates — not political parties. The current law was passed in 2020 in response to the nationwide Tishreen protests that began the year prior. The protests resulted in more independent political actors emerging. The 2020 law also increased the number of electoral districts in each province. 

Many smaller political actors believe the amendment will benefit larger Iraqi parties at their expense, Al-Monitor Iraq contributor Ali Mamouri reported in February.