Shafaq News – Baghdad

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani won notable domestic support in Iraq’s 2025 parliamentary elections, but the path to forming a new government is expected to be long and complex, the Washington Institute warned on Wednesday.

Despite the strong results achieved by PM al-Sudani and the ‘good’ relationship that has linked Baghdad and Washington over the past three years, the Coordination Framework (CF) — the predominantly Shiite alliance currently steering Baghdad’s government — may still retain the driver’s seat.

This outcome is influenced by the lengthy government-formation process and the final distribution of parliamentary seats, according to an assessment by the Washington Institute, which cautioned about a possible return to the days when Iraq served as a ‘battleground’ between the United States and Iran.

The report anticipates a drawn-out period of political bargaining, reflecting delays observed after previous elections, and raises questions about whether electoral momentum alone can overcome the realities of parliamentary arithmetic.

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