Shafaq News – Baghdad

Haider al-Abadi’s al-Nasr (Victory) Coalition will skip the November 11 Iraqi parliamentary elections but will back Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in his bid for a second term, the former prime minister announced on Saturday.

Speaking to Shafaq News, al-Abadi noted that some members of the Coalition, which is also part of the Coordination Framework—a predominantly Shiite political alliance—are participating through the National State Forces alliance. He added that the coalition would lend its support with votes.

Al-Abadi further highlighted that the parliamentary elections will go ahead as scheduled, describing Al-Sudani as “the first Iraqi prime minister to rise entirely from within Iraq, progressing from sub-district governor to provincial governor, then minister, parliamentary deputy, and finally prime minister.”

Earlier in June, the Coalition had announced it would not run directly in the elections, criticizing the process as driven by “political money” and lacking “firm legal safeguards to prevent manipulation and vote-buying.”

Nationwide, about 30 million Iraqis are eligible to vote, with 31 alliances, 38 political parties, and 79 independent candidates—23 in general constituencies and 56 representing minorities—entering the race.