Shafaq News – Nineveh

Former Nineveh governor Najm Al-Jubouri has joined the Sunni Progress (Taqaddum) Party, a development that political sources in the Iraqi province say could set the stage for a split within the Ninawa Li Ahliha (Nineveh for Its People) bloc.

The sources told Shafaq News on Thursday that Al-Jubouri made the shift after receiving what they described as firm assurances from Taqaddum leader Mohammed Al-Halbousi of being nominated for the Defense Ministry in the next cabinet.

The offer, they explained, came in light of Al-Jubouri’s strong electoral showing, as he secured more than 39,000 out of 111,225 votes in the 2025 parliamentary elections — the highest individual tally on the Ninawa Li Ahliha list, which won three seats and is aligned with Al-Hasm al-Watani (Determination) led by Defense Minister Thabet Al-Abbasi.

Read more: Iraq’s 2025 Elections: Old lines, new margins

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) confirmed that nationwide turnout reached 56.11% for the elections, which included special voting on November 9 and the general vote on November 11 across 8,703 polling centers and 39,285 stations. In Nineveh, turnout reached 65.22% in a province that holds 34 of Iraq’s 329 parliamentary seats — including eight for women and three for minorities — and is home to Yazidi, Christian, Shabak, and Kurdish communities alongside its Sunni Arab majority.

Taqaddum won 27 seats nationwide, including four in Nineveh, placing it second in the province after the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Against this backdrop, the sources cautioned that Al-Jubouri’s defection, if confirmed, could strain the bloc’s cohesion and shift its role within local political alignments.