Voters will select candidates under the open list form of proportional representation. The last national elections had used a closed list system, but the Iraqi governorate elections of 2009 used open lists.

Internally displaced people will only be allowed to vote where their ration card was issued.

Under the electoral system, in the Council of Representatives, 325 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve four-year terms. The President is elected by parliament to serve a four-year term as well.

The new electoral law in 2009 increased the size of the Council from 275 members (formerly 230 seats from party lists in each governorate and 45 national compensatory seats). Under the new system, 310 seats are apportioned among 18 governorates, seven are nationwide compensatory seats, seven are reserved to sectarian groups in specific governorates, and one seat reserved to Christians is allocated nationwide. The seven national compensatory seats are allocated to make the overall distribution of seats by party as proportional as possible to the overall distribution of votes by party.