Survey results: How Iraqis view al-Zaidi’s government, 100 days in

Months of political deadlock after Iraq’s November 2025 parliamentary elections ended in May 2026 when coalition talks among the Shia Coordination Framework (CF), Kurdish, and Sunni leaders led to the nomination of Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister. During the first hundred days of the al-Zaidi government, the Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies (IIACSS) surveyed Iraqis nationwide, and the data offer valuable insights into how Iraqis assess the new administration at this early stage.

Seventy-seven percent of Iraqis are satisfied with the selection of Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister, and 75 percent say he has been able to bear his responsibilities, almost identical to al-Sudani’s 76 percent at the same 100-day point, suggesting a similar early honeymoon period. But beneath these high initial ratings are familiar and persistent concerns. Corruption remains one of the country’s most persistent challenges, with 60 percent of Iraqis saying it is widespread to a large extent. This perception rises to 69 percent among Shia Iraqis, the highest among Iraq’s main communities. Unemployment remains a major concern, particularly among younger Iraqis and especially young men. The findings raise a broader question: How long can early optimism endure if the structural concerns that have shaped Iraqi public opinion since 2003 remain unresolved? 

IIACSS’s 100 Days Survey is part of a research series conducted for nearly a decade to track Iraqi public opinion during the opening months of successive governments. Fieldwork was conducted August 5 through 31, 2026, with a nationally representative sample of 2,056 Iraqis selected using a multistage probability-proportional-to-size (PPS) sampling design, with an approximate margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. 

Early approval gives al-Zaidi a window of opportunity, yet the same respondents who rate his government favorably also expect progress on corruption and jobs. Whether this honeymoon turns into lasting trust will depend less on the optimism of the first hundred days than on the government’s ability to deliver tangible improvements in the months ahead. 

Munqith Dagher
Chairman,
Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies (IIACSS)

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Image: Iraqi lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to vote in a new government headed by Ali al-Zaidi as prime minister, at the parliament headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, May 14, 2026. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad