(MENAFN) Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission announced late Monday that the Reconstruction and Development coalition led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has secured the most seats in the parliamentary elections, winning 46 out of 329 seats.

According to an Iraqi news agency, the Progress Party, led by former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, came second with 36 seats, while the State of Law coalition, headed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, won 29 seats.

The Shia-led Coordination Framework later declared itself the largest parliamentary bloc, uniting all its constituent parties, and formed two committees: one to draft a unified national governance vision and another to interview prime minister candidates.

The bloc said it will proceed with nominating a prime minister following constitutional procedures. The meeting discussed “the criteria adopted for selecting the prime minister, in addition to the nature of the required government program in a manner consistent with the political, economic and service-related challenges Iraq faces and in a way that meets citizens’ aspirations for reform, stability and development.”

Voter turnout reached 56.11%, with 7,743 candidates contesting 329 seats — the total number of MPs responsible for electing the president and approving the government.

In Iraq, no party can govern alone, making alliances necessary, a process that often takes months. The Shia-led Coordination Framework was established after the 2021 elections to counter the Sadrist Movement’s bid for a “national majority government.”

Under Iraq’s power-sharing system, the prime minister is customarily Shia, the president Kurdish, and the parliament speaker Sunni.

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