Final election results announced by Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) have revealed minor changes to the previously published preliminary results. The State of Law Coalition, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has maintained a leading position in 10 out of 14 provinces. The list won more than a quarter of the total 440 provincial council seats and ranked first in the capital city of Baghdad and in nine other southern provinces.

A new balance of local power now looms. While some lists will be obliged to enter into coalitions with other forces, other lists won majorities enabling them to exert control over provincial councils.

Among those who achieved majorities are the State of Law Coalition which won 28 seats out of Baghdad’s 57 seats and 20 out of Basra’s 35 seats; and the Hadba list, headed by Atheel al-Najafi, which won 19 out of Ninawa’s 37 seats.

One of the biggest surprises was Yousef al-Habboubi’s victory in Karbala. Al-Habboubi entered the election on a one person list and secured 13 out of the province’s 27 seats in terms of vote count. However, because his list only contains one name IHEC regulations stipulate that he can only hold one seat.

Meanwhile, results show that in most provinces no one party obtained an absolute victory and that coalitions will be the order of the day. The State of Law Coalition and the Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (backed by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC)) both attained seven seats in Najaf, five in Muthana and eight in Maysan. In Babel, Wasit and Karbala, a number of parties won a similar number of seats. Meanwhile, in Sunni-majority provinces, coalitions may emerge between the Iraqi List and the Tawafuq Front

Final provincial election results for 14 out of 18 provinces:

BAGHDAD (57 seats)

State of Law Coalition (28 seats)
Tawafuq (7 seats)
Independent Ahrar Coalition (5 seats)
Iraqi National List (5 seats)
Iraqi National Project Gathering (4 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (3 seats)
Reform Stream (3 seats)
Christians (1 seat)
Sabean-Mandaeans (1 seat)

BASRA (35 seats)

State of Law Coalition (20 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (5 seats)
Gathering of Justice and Unity – Awlad Amer (2 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (2 seats)
Iraqi Islamic Party (2 seats)
Fadhila Party (1 seat)
Iraqi National List (2 seats)
Christians (1 seat)

DIWANIYAH (28 seats)

State of Law Coalition (11 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (5 seats)
Iraqi National Coalition (3 seats)
National Reform Stream (3 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (2 seats)
Islamic Wala Party (2 seats)
Fadhila Party (2 seats)

DHI QAR (31 seats)

State of Law Coalition (13 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (7 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (5 seats)
National Reform Stream (4 seats)
Fadhila Party (2 seats)

BABEL (30 seats)

State of Law Coalition (8 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (5 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (3 seats)
Reform Stream (3 seats)
Iraqi Civil Society Commission (3 seats)
Iraqi List (3 seats)
Independent Justice Society (3 seats)
Independent al-Ansar Bloc (2 seats)

SALAHUDDIN (28 seats)

Tawafuq – Salahuddin (5 seats)
Iraqi List (5 seats)
Iraqi National Project Gathering (3 seats)
Iraqi National Project Front (3 seats)
Iraq Scholars and Intellectuals Group (2 seats)
Turkmen Front (2 seats)
Liberation and Construction Front (2 seats)
Salahuddin National Front (2 seats)
Brotherly and Co-existence Coalition (2 seats)
State of Law Coalition (2 seats)

NINAWA (37 seats)

Hadba National Coalition (19 seats)
Ninawa Brotherly Coalition (12 seats)
Islamic Party (3 seats)
Christians (1 seat)
Shabak (1 seat)
Ezidi (1 seat)

ANBAR (29 seats)

Awakening of Iraq (8 seats)
Iraqi National Project Gathering (6 seats)
Coalition of Intellectuals and Tribes (6 seats)
National Movement for Reform and Development (3 seats)
Iraqi List (2 seats)
National Unity Coalition (2 seats)
Iraq’s Tribes Coalition (2 seats)

NAJAF (28 seats)

State of Law Coalition (7 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (7 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (6 seats)
Loyalty to Najaf (4 seats)
Reform Stream (2 seats)
Najaf Unity (2 seats)

DIYALA (29 seats)

Tawafuq Front (9 seats)
Iraqi National Project Gathering (6 seats)
Kurdish Alliance (6 seats)
Iraqi List (3 seats)
State of Law Coalition (2 seats)
Diyala National Coalition (2 seats)
Reform List (1 seat)

KARBALA (27 seats)

Yousef al-Habboubi (1 seat)
State of Law Coalition (9 seats)
Amal al-Rafidain Coalition (9 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (4 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (4 seats)

MUTHANNA (26 seats)

State of Law Coalition (5 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (5 seats)
Al-Jumhour List (3 seats)
National Reform Stream (3 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (2 seats)
Gathering for Muthana Coalition (2 seats)
Independent National Coalition (2 seats)
Iraqi Independent Gathering (2 seats)
Al-Furat Gathering (2 seats)

MAYSAN (27 seats)

State of Law Coalition (8 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (8 seats)
Independent Ahrar Coalition (7 seats)
Reform Stream (4 seats)

WASIT (28 seats)

State of Law Coalition (13 seats)
Shaheed al-Mihrab Coalition (6 seats)
Independent Ahrar Stream (3 seats)
Iraqi List (3 seats)
Iraqi Constitutional Party (3 seats)