The political framework of Iraq

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders: President: Latif RASHID (since 13 October 2022)
Prime Minister: Mohammed Shia al-SUDANI (since 27 October 2022)
Next Election Dates: Presidential: To be determined
Main Political Parties: Iraq is a multi-party state. After the 2021 elections, the main parties/coalitions are:

- Progress Party (Takadum): big-tent, Sunni-led, non-sectarianism
- State of Law Coalition; centralist, pro-Iran, big tent
- Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP): Kurdish nationalism, republicanism
- Sadrist Movement: religious conservatism, was the largest political party in the October 2021 parliamentary election, but resigned from parliament following the 2021–2022 Iraqi political crisis
- Al-Fatah Alliance: led by pro-Iran Hadi Al-Amri, leader of Badr Corps, a guerrilla force formed by Iran to fight the Iraqi army during the war between Iraq and Iran
- Emtidad Movement: centrist, anti-corruption, emerged from the 2019 protest movement
- Kurdistan Alliance: coalition founded by the major Kurdish parties of Kurdistan Region
- Azem Alliance: Sunni coalition, emphasizes Sunni Arab interests
- New Generation Movement: liberal
- Victory Alliance: centre, Islamic democracy
- Babylon Movement: Christian political party with ties to the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Executive Power: Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic. The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq. The President approves laws, which are voted on by the Parliament.
The Prime Minister chairs the Council of Ministers and can dismiss a minister, with the support of a majority in the Parliament.
Legislative Power: The legislative power of Iraq is vested in the Council of Representatives, the unicameral parliament with 329 members elected for four-year terms. Most members are elected through general elections while some seats are reserved for minorities. The 2005 Constitution establishes a second chamber, termed the Federation Council, to represent areas and governorates. However, the Federation Council has never been constituted as a law has not been passed to define its composition and responsibilities; thus Iraq is essentially a single chamber of legislature.

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:: 163/180

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Political Freedom:: 5/7

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