Iraq Government Transitions to Caretaker Status as 2025 Elections Begin

A senior legal expert in Iraq stated that with the start of the special voting, the Iraqi government has, from a legal standpoint, transitioned into a caretaker government as of today, Sunday.

According to Baghdad reports, Salem Hawwas, a prominent legal expert, told local media that legally, with the initiation of today’s special voting, the term of the current parliament and government has ended, and the present government now holds the legal status of a caretaker administration.

Regarding the responsibilities of the caretaker government during this interim period until a new government is formed, Hawwas noted that the current administration is only authorized to manage day-to-day affairs and does not have the authority to make strategic decisions or enact major laws.

Meanwhile, following the closing of ballot boxes and the end of the special voting, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani issued a statement commending the active and informed participation of Iraq’s armed forces.

Al-Sudani emphasized in his statement that he appreciates the Iraqi armed forces for exercising their legal rights responsibly and selecting their representatives for the upcoming parliament.

The Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq announced this afternoon that initial turnout for the special voting reached 60 percent.

The commission predicted that within 24 hours of the conclusion of the nationwide voting scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, the preliminary results of Iraq’s parliamentary elections would be announced.

According to the commission, of the total 1,313,980 eligible voters in the special voting, 816,147 had cast their ballots by noon today.

The special voting, which began at 7:00 a.m. and continued until 6:00 p.m. local time today, was limited to security and military personnel as well as displaced persons in camps.

The second and final phase of voting for Iraq’s sixth parliamentary elections will take place on Tuesday, November 10, with more than 21 million eligible voters expected to participate after updating their records with the Independent High Electoral Commission.