2023 in review: Iraq's pro-Iran factions make gains, but so do Sunni groups
December's provincial elections across Iraq saw big gains for the ruling Coordination Framework and for the Sunni minority and Muhammad al-Halbousi list.
BAGHDAD — By the end of 2023, the Iraqi political forces backed by Iran regained their dominance over the Iraqi political scene thanks to the Sadrists’ continued boycott of the political process and the significant decline in the performance of the Kurdish and Sunni political forces in the latest provincial elections, political leaders and observers told Al-Monitor.
The initial results of the provincial council elections that took place on Dec. 18 in all the Iraqi provinces except the autonomous Kurdish region showed that the forces of the ruling Coordination Framework (CF) — an umbrella bloc of Iraqi Shiite parties united mostly by their opposition to the Sadrist movement — have won most of the seats in the Shiite-majority provincial councils in central and southern Iraq, with a decent presence in the Kurdish and Sunni majority provinces in western and northern parts of the country.
Provincial councils are one of the largest sources of financial funding for political forces and for rallying electoral votes.
Whoever controls the governorate council controls the governorate’s annual financial budget, its disbursement outlets and the security and service agencies.
