EXPLAINER: Why do Iraq's elections matter to the world?

Iraq’s elections on Sunday come with enormous challenges: Iraq’s economy has been battered by years of conflict, endemic corruption and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's elections on Sunday come with enormous challenges: Iraq’s economy has been battered by years of conflict, endemic corruption and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. State institutions are failing, the country’s infrastructure is crumbling. Powerful paramilitary groups increasingly threaten the authority of the state, and hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced from the years of war against the Islamic State group.

While few Iraqis expect meaningful change in their day-to-day lives, the parliament elections will shape the direction of Iraq’s foreign policy at a key time in the Middle East, including as Iraq is mediating between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“Iraq’s elections will be watched by all in the region to determine how the country’s future leadership will sway the regional balance of power,” said Marsin Alshamary an Iraqi-American research fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center.

So, what are the main things to watch for?