After an arduous year of political strife and infighting, the appointment of Mohammed Shia Al Sudani as Prime Minister of Iraq in October 2022 has effectively put an end to the political paralysis and deadlock that plagued Iraq and its people. A former minister during Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s tenure, Sudani came into power with a pledge to form a new cabinet, fight rampant corruption and provide stability to a country that has continuously grappled with insecurity.
Earlier this month marked 100 days since Sudani’s appointment, and recent ORB International data has revealed Iraqis’ opinions about his performance so far.
ORB International found that the majority of respondents (76%) generally believe that Sudani was able to assume his responsibilities since the formation of government until now and are satisfied with the selection of Sudani as PM. In line with this, a deeper look also suggests that most respondents think that the government led by Sudani has succeeded in carrying out improvements in:
Despite these positive findings, the deep-rooted institutionalization of corruption in Iraqi society and governance leaves many with reservations. For instance, most respondents (46%) believe that Sudani’s government does not give any more attention to fighting corruption as previous governments. To reiterate this, the data shows that most of those interviewed believe there has been no significant change in the government’s ability to govern the country since the appointment of Sudani.
While Sudani’s performance continues to be a topic of public scrutiny and debate, ORB research will continue to uncover and analyze public opinion and perceptions among Iraqis.
ORB International has been tracking public opinion in Iraq since 2004 and are experts in conducting research across the region.
For more information about our work in the Middle East please contact Rosie Hazell rhazell@orb-international.com or Ben Wells bwells@orb-international.com
Stay tuned for more!
Lara Harfouch
Cover Photo by Tasnim News Agency used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License