This week join your host Alexander Parsons, our Senior Analyst along with Valeria Scuto our Middle East and North Africa Analyst and Anastasia Chisholm our Associate Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa to discuss the up and coming elections in Iraq.

Iraq's elections due this Sunday, 10 October, will take place during a period of protracted economic crisis and considerable anti-government public sentiment, which has risen since the government's repression of protest movements in 2019. Strong security measures will be deployed on and around election day, while international observers and regional actors will closely watch electoral processes and results.

Shi'ite groups – including Iran-affiliated factions – are likely to continue to dominate Iraq's fractured political landscape. Likely flashpoints for domestic unrest include the maintenance of the unpopular elite-led status quo and allegations of fraud. In turn, these could delay timelines for government formation and undermine the implementation of political and economic reforms, driving policy risk for businesses and investors in the coming months.