Geoeconomic and policy analysis
2026-04-26
10 minute read
16 sources
Iraq 2026: The Sudani Wage Bill, the KRG Pipeline, and a Parliament Returning to the Sadrists
The October 2025 vote returned a fragmented parliament, the Iraq Turkey Pipeline remains shut three years after the ICC award, and Brent at 70 dollars exposes a federal break-even still near 92. The 2026 question: can a new cabinet hold the dinar peg, normalize KRG salaries, and clear the wage bill without an oil price reset.
Iraq's 11th parliamentary election on October 11, 2025 produced no majority bloc, with the Coordination Framework holding the largest cluster of seats around 80, the Sadrist movement returning under a renamed list with roughly 55 seats, and the KDP and PUK splitting Kurdish representation along familiar lines. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia...