U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad Praises Smooth Iraqi Elections, Notes Strong KDP Performance

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and senior American diplomat, on Wednesday welcomed the conduct of Iraq’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday, describing the process as calm and more successful than anticipated.

In a post on the social media platform X, Khalilzad stated that voter turnout was noticeably higher compared to the previous national elections, with the polling process proceeding without major disruptions or security incidents.

“It is too early to say anything definitive about the results,” he noted, emphasizing that full results are expected to become clearer in the coming days. However, he highlighted the strong performance of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by President Masoud Barzani, which he said has secured “more than one million votes” according to preliminary figures.

Khalilzad also remarked on the situation in Baghdad, stating that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s coalition currently appears to be leading among competing blocs.

Official final results are expected to be released after the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) completes its tabulation and reviews any submitted complaints.

General voting for the sixth session of the Iraqi parliament began at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday and continued until 6:00 p.m. across all Iraqi and Kurdistan Region provinces.

The IHEC announced on Tuesday that voter turnout in the general parliamentary elections had exceeded 55 percent, marking a significant rise compared to previous years.

According to the IHEC, the figure is based on data collected from the majority of polling stations across the country. More than 12 million Iraqis cast ballots out of over 21 million eligible voters.

This year’s elections feature 38 political parties, 31 coalitions, and 75 individual lists, with a total of 7,768 candidates—5,520 men and 2,248 women—competing for seats in Iraq’s Council of Representatives.

This vote was held under a new electoral system introduced after the 2018 elections and nationwide protests from 2019 to 2021, shifting from proportional representation to a single non-transferable vote system in 83 multi-member constituencies.

Today's elections in Iraq went well and better than expected. The level of participation was higher than the last election national elections despite Mutada Sadr's boycott. Perhas his influence has declined. There were no significant disruptions or security incidents. It too…

— Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) November 11, 2025