
Shafaq News
Eighteen months after Iraq reinstated provincial councils
through elections held in December 2023, what was intended as a milestone for
local democratic renewal has instead descended into institutional paralysis.
Across the country, these councils—originally designed to decentralize
authority and improve service oversight—are now widely seen as symbols of
political infighting, legal uncertainty, and eroded public trust.
The councils’ revival followed a decade-long suspension, but
their comeback has been marred by opaque power arrangements and factional
dominance. The result: a system that privileges political quotas over citizen
representation, and where council decisions often reflect elite rivalry rather
than local needs.
From Oversight to Gridlock
In the immediate aftermath of the 2023 elections, nearly
every provincial council struggled to form a working majority or elect key
leadership. In many cases, the absence of binding performance standards allowed
dominant blocs to assert control through informal negotiations. Rather than
functioning as local watchdogs or policy facilitators, councils became arenas
of partisan competition.
“Provincial councils have turned into an empty loop that
feeds corruption,” said independent MP Hussein al-Saabri. “There’s little
effective governance, and public services are stagnant.” His concern is echoed
by Babylon council member Hussein al-Dahmooshi, who attributed the dysfunction
to Iraq’s entrenched quota system. “Any decision not backed by powerful blocs
simply fails,” he noted, adding that independents are often marginalized.
Former MP Mazen al-Faili warned that repeated institutional
failures were accelerating the erosion of citizen trust: “There’s poor
oversight from both the councils and Parliament. This has allowed corruption to
take root.”
Baghdad: Legal Battles and Power Struggles
In Baghdad, months of internal discord have highlighted the
legal ambiguity and partisan friction plaguing Iraq’s largest provincial
council. Early in 2025, the council voted to dismiss Governor Abdul-Muttalib
al-Alawi on grounds of retirement eligibility—a justification the governor
rejected. While the Administrative Court initially upheld his removal, the
State of Law Coalition challenged the process, accusing the council chairman of
overreach. Weeks later, the council moved to dismiss the chairman himself,
Ammar al-Qaisi. That decision, too, was reversed by the court, deepening the
governance stalemate.
In July 2025, the Ishraqat Kanoon bloc expelled its only
council representative, Hussein al-Khuzai, over alleged violations of party
discipline. Separately, the National Resolution Coalition withdrew from the
Baghdad Bloc, citing political deviation.
Kirkuk: Fragile Balances Collapse
In Kirkuk, ethnic and political tensions have destabilized
the post-election landscape. In August 2024, a controversial session held in
Baghdad—boycotted by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and several Arab
lawmakers—resulted in the appointment of Ribwar Taha as governor and Mohammed
Hafiz as council chairman. Though the Administrative Court upheld their
appointments in early 2025, the session’s legitimacy remained in dispute.
A power-sharing pact, intended to balance Kirkuk’s Kurdish,
Arab, and Turkmen constituencies, collapsed in May when two Arab council
members withdrew from the ruling coalition, accusing partners of violating the
agreement. Although they retained their seats, their withdrawal effectively
ended any pretense of consensus governance.
Saladin and Diyala: Court Rulings Ignored
In Saladin, the appointment of former governor Ahmed
Abdullah al-Jubouri (Abu Mazen) in February 2024 triggered a deadlock between
provincial and federal authorities. Despite his amnesty, the Iraqi Presidency
refused to issue a formal decree confirming his return due to prior
convictions. Local tribal and political factions backed the council’s decision,
but the impasse remains unresolved.
Further tensions arose when the council voted to dismiss its
chairman, Adel al-Sumaidaie, replacing him with Ali al-Kareem. The
Administrative Judiciary Court later invalidated al-Kareem’s appointment,
reinstating al-Sumaidaie. However, the conflict revealed a deeper institutional
weakness: political blocs often ignore or delay implementing court decisions,
undermining judicial authority.
Diyala presents a similar picture. Repeated efforts to
remove the council president have led to a cycle of court-mandated
reinstatements, which the majority of council members have refused to honor.
The result is near-total administrative paralysis and a growing perception that
the rule of law is selectively applied.
Dhi Qar, Najaf, and Al-Diwaniyah: Corruption Allegations and
Resignations
In Dhi Qar, the dismissal of Governor Murtadha al-Ibrahimi
in early 2024 deepened long-standing internal divisions. Rival factions within
the council have failed to agree on a successor, leaving key administrative and
budgetary decisions in limbo.
In Najaf, a senior council member resigned in April 2025
amid accusations of misconduct in awarding public contracts. In Al-Diwaniyah,
citizen protests erupted over claims that council members colluded with
contractors to inflate project costs. The backlash prompted a judicial
investigation and the temporary suspension of several officials.
Rooted in Quotas, Not Service
Political analyst Nawal al-Mousawi traced the dysfunction
back to the quota-based system used to distribute council seats and executive
roles. “Since their inception, these councils have operated under a partisan
logic that undermines transparency,” she told Shafaq News. “The conflicts are
more about political positioning ahead of national elections than about public
service.”
Al-Mousawi also emphasized that the councils’ return, after
a ten-year suspension, has failed to bring lessons learned. “Rather than
reforming themselves, they’ve reverted to the same practices that led to their
previous abolition. This illustrates how entrenched institutional stagnation
has become.”
A Crisis of Democratic Legitimacy
At its core, the crisis in Iraq’s provincial councils is not
just administrative but democratic. Conceived as mechanisms for local oversight
and citizen representation, the councils have instead become symbols of
dysfunction. Voter turnout for the 2023 elections hovered around 41%, but more
recent surveys indicate declining interest in the upcoming parliamentary
elections—a reflection of deepening public disillusionment with both local and
national governance.
Outlook: Reform or Repetition?
While some voices have called for a second suspension of the
councils, others advocate sweeping reforms: revising electoral laws, imposing
performance benchmarks, and limiting partisan appointments. Yet such reforms
would require political will that has so far been lacking.
In the meantime, many political blocs continue to use
provincial councils as platforms for influence ahead of federal elections.
Without decisive legislative or judicial intervention, Iraq risks repeating the
cycle of failed decentralization—a trajectory that threatens not just local
governance but the broader credibility of the country’s democratic
institutions.
Comparatively, Iraq’s experience mirrors failed
decentralization efforts elsewhere in the region—such as Lebanon’s paralyzed
municipalities or Tunisia’s reversed local empowerment experiment—underscoring
that without safeguards, local governance can become a new arena for elite
dysfunction rather than a remedy for centralization.
Written and edited by Shafaq News staff.