Uncertainty and poor governance have fostered an environment of competition for power and leverage within Iraq, both between the Kurdish regional Government (KRG) and Government of Iraq (GoI) and between Turkey and Iran. These dynamics are generating new points of friction and hostility, particularly at the municipal level. Last December’s long-delayed Provincial Council elections in Iraq have opened a new chapter of political contestation between local actors and regional rival countries. Internal fragility within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI)—particularly between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)—has spilled over into Iraq’s Disputed Internal Boundaries (DIBs), claimed by both the KRG and the GoI. Subsequent disputes within the elected municipal councils to agree on governor positions in Iraq’s DIBs have further highlighted these tensions.