Two years after the anti-power protest movement that rocked Iraq, Iraqis are called to participate in legislative elections, scheduled for October 10. A ballot whose main stake remains participation, while many voters, especially among the ranks of protesters, will boycott the ballot boxes.
A few days before the early parliamentary elections on October 10, a large number of disillusioned Iraqis intend to snub the polling stations, while calls to boycott the poll have multiplied on social networks in recent weeks.
Citing a foreseeable fraud since the elections are organized by the parties which have held Iraq since the fall of the autocratic regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, and a climate of intimidation and violence targeting opposition figures and activists, a Ten movements from the protest movement that rocked the country in the fall of 2019, also decided to boycott this electoral meeting.
>> To see on France 24 : In Iraq, the murdered revolution
So much so that the ballot, initially scheduled for 2022 before being brought forward for the first time to June 2021 and then finally in October to calm the protesters, is likely to confirm the current political division.
The “October forces” failed to take advantage of the momentum of 2019
According to him, even though the Iraqi voter is looking for and still waiting for a political alternative, the “October forces” from the protest movement have failed to take advantage of the momentum of the 2019 uprising to be able to embody a national opposition able to face the political class in place.
“With a few nuances in the representation of future parliamentary blocs, most indicators predict that there will be no big surprises in these elections, in the sense that we expect the traditional political forces can globally maintain their electorate, “confirms Mustafa Fahs, journalist and political analyst, expert in Iraqi affairs, interviewed by France 24. In particular the current of the influential Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr who has the largest bloc in the country. Outgoing Parliament.
“Like what is happening with the protest in Lebanon which does not manage to speak with one voice, the ‘October forces’ did not succeed, for lack of consensus and experience, to offer a unique leadership and a unifying discourse with a view to standing in united ranks in the elections, he explains. power and parties, on the already existing divisions within the protest. “
While the temptation to boycott the ballot raises fears of a record abstention, Mustafa Fahs believes that this can only favor, here too, the traditional parties which will have a free hand in Parliament to negotiate among themselves the formation of the next government. “Any move to reduce the turnout will automatically increase the chances of classic and religious parties which, in turn, always manage to mobilize their voters.”
The record abstention recorded during the legislative elections of 2018 (officially 44.52% of those registered had voted), had thus enabled the candidates of Hachd al-Chaabi, the powerful coalition of pro-Iranian Shiite armed groups, frequently accused of numerous abuses against civilians, to gain access to Parliament for the first time.
The opposition must “seek to gain the confidence of the citizens”
Despite polls which confirm that voter turnout is likely to be low, voices are being raised across the country in the face of the temptation to boycott, which is widespread among Iraqi youth.
Asked by France 24, Hussein al-Rmahi, secretary general of “Machrouh Kadimoun” (“Project we are coming”, a movement created after the uprising of 2019, indicates that he wants to fully attempt the election game, which he considers more constructive and effective than a boycott to raise the voice of his compatriots.
“To fully play its role, especially in Parliament, the opposition must start by seeking to gain the confidence of citizens at the ballot box, because political practice needs an effective opposition,” he underlines. The boycott cannot than fostering a status quo in which the forces in power remain in place in a Parliament that presents the same face. “
For his part, Judge Jalil Adnan Khalaf, president of the High Independent Electoral Commission responsible for supervising the legislative elections of October 10, urges the population to go to the polls. “Our goal is to ensure the success of this ballot, and this requires in particular a high participation rate,” he confides to France 24. We have done our part to ensure the holding of these elections and to reassure the voters, therefore the ball is now in their court, it is up to them to participate in this democratic exercise to ensure its success. “
If the judge’s appeal is unlikely to convince those who intend to boycott the ballot, another voice, immeasurably more influential, can sway part of Iraqi opinion. It is that of the highest Shiite authority in the country, the well-respected Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who left his reserve on September 29 to call on the Iraqis “to show responsibility” and to go to the polls. .
According to him, we must “take advantage of this opportunity to effect a real change in the administration of the State and remove the corrupt and incompetent hands from the main cogs”.
It remains to be seen whether by its position of moral support for the demands of the protest, the Ayatollah will succeed in convincing Iraqis ulcerated by a political class deemed corrupt and incompetent, but also by the tutelage of neighboring Iran and the grip of the militias. on their country, to try once again to believe that a ballot can be a game-changer.
https://wakelet.com/wake/iImGI9nzOmow90vAnuP1G
https://wakelet.com/wake/F14ibXTjT4lh5lZ5n5l13
https://wakelet.com/wake/tOzyPLcDQq1JO9iRA2GcP
https://wakelet.com/wake/cR8NlLTe_bLjD4SJS5JvD
https://wakelet.com/wake/CTLkKHGClIvHYYfDY2L6i
https://wakelet.com/wake/N5IXATog36N1huaOJj6KW
https://wakelet.com/wake/9usBbQl5ZG6OQ6FNz-Nvl
https://wakelet.com/wake/cQhwp9n9acV8Iab4V2O0U
https://wakelet.com/wake/6QL3v0ZCWUQf6szGbTGBg
https://wakelet.com/wake/eTiCRX3J3KSQvcsVk7muK
https://wakelet.com/wake/RK2h9KpccQDL6_iEGDHfR
https://wakelet.com/wake/4vFKRPNLVjdcvY3YaqW7n
https://wakelet.com/wake/eHdLLRHo3rWdGXYvQtSCI
https://wakelet.com/wake/ExW59wH9f7tY70m0QVwDJ
https://wakelet.com/wake/VejbDbqilDdv2Wod56U3j
https://wakelet.com/wake/bHEdtsMuZYhJrowoOsU8l
https://wakelet.com/wake/RMjS00zx5iOBr4M7HYR3l
https://wakelet.com/wake/8LeksePbSAvRyWka6RNSP
https://wakelet.com/wake/iMgHmyep2ysTwq1BUDDzX
https://wakelet.com/wake/dmAEJh7Es8fJ4iudB4_7f
https://wakelet.com/wake/bnNTXVxmpGqKwfJuu6LiW
https://wakelet.com/wake/TQ2so11RaOJM8P73ss9tL
https://wakelet.com/wake/rKc9rhpeqLsj8kDIcYeGm
https://wakelet.com/wake/i_kN8aG5tMBQH4W5JLi9R
https://wakelet.com/wake/TJFc88dI4GpGzb1JeOvZZ