Iraq Votes: Kurdish Parties Emerge as Key Players in 2025 Elections

Iraq's sixth parliamentary elections were held on 11 November 2025, with turnout exceeding 56 percent nationwide, a meaningful increase from 43 percent in 2021. Voters in the Kurdistan Region recorded the highest participation in the country, above 70 percent in Erbil and Duhok.

No party or alliance gained a majority in the 329-seat legislature. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 27 seats nationally and became the single largest vote-winner with over one million votes, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) won 18 seats. The KDP took nine seats in each of Erbil and Duhok provinces and five in Nineveh, while the PUK won eight seats in Sulaymaniyah and four in Kirkuk.

Together, the Kurdish parties remain key players in coalition talks and in the selection of Iraq's next president, a position traditionally reserved for a Kurdish nominee. (KRG Representation in the United States)