Iraq’s Al-Siyada backs winning list criterion for largest bloc

2026-03-03 - 16:53

Shafaq News- Baghdad The Sovereignty Alliance (Al-Siyada), one of Iraq’s most influential Sunni political blocs, backed adopting the “electorally winning list” criterion to determine the largest parliamentary bloc, the party’s leader Khamis Al-Khanjar noted on Tuesday. In a statement, Al-Khanjar referred to the proposal by Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan on the concept of the largest bloc, pointing out that “repeated experiences since 2010 have shown that leaving the constitutional term open to post-election alliances to form has led to prolonged political deals that exhausted the state, entrenched sectarianism, enabled foreign interference, and weakened public trust in the electoral process.” pic.twitter.com/Xr0fdhrlvz — خميس الخنجر (@khameskhanjar) March 3, 2026 He added that adopting the winning list criterion “puts an end to ambiguity, protects the popular will from political maneuvering, and establishes long-awaited constitutional security and political stability,” stressing that following the constitution’s clear wording restores the concept of constitutional security and prevents constitutional judiciary institutions from becoming political actors. Earlier today, Zaidan proposed amending the constitution or the Iraqi Council of Representatives Law to define the largest bloc by number, which would be responsible for nominating a candidate for prime minister to form the government after each legislative election in the country.