Iraq: polling stations open for early legislative elections

Voters are called to the polls on Sunday in Iraq for early legislative elections presented by the government as a concession in the face of a popular uprising. A ballot under high security which raises fears of a record abstention.

The polling stations opened in Iraq, Sunday, October 10, for early legislative elections, organized following the popular protest movement, in 2019, against corruption and the economic crisis.

In central Baghdad, an AFP journalist witnessed the opening around 7:00 a.m. (04:00 GMT) of a polling station installed in a school, but few voters had yet made the trip.

Housewife Jimand Khalil, 37, was among the first at the opening. “I have come to vote to change the country for the better, and to change the current leaders who are incompetent. They made a lot of promises to us but didn’t bring us anything. We want independents this time around.”

A major security device has been deployed in the capital and at the entrance to polling stations, where voters will have to be searched twice before they can enter, AFP noted.

The offices will close at 6:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. GMT), unless there is an extension. Dozens of international observers dispatched by the UN and the European Union will oversee the process.

From the opening, Prime Minister Moustafa al-Kazimi voted in a polling station in the ultra-secure green zone of Baghdad. “This is an opportunity for change,” he said, calling out to Iraqis and “those who hesitate”. “Get out there and vote, change your reality, for Iraq and for your future,” he added. “Vote, vote, vote”, he hammered.

Fear of record abstention

But experts are already predicting a record abstention. Initially scheduled for 2022, the elections were brought forward to calm the protest of the fall of 2019, an expression of immense popular fed up with sprawling corruption, failing public services and a failing economy.

Suppressed in the blood (at least 600 dead and 30,000 injured), the movement has since run out of steam. Dozens of activists have been victims of kidnappings, assassinations and attempted assassinations blamed on influential pro-Iran armed factions.

Describing this undemocratic context, protest activists largely boycotted the ballot. “Nothing will change, these elections will be won by the same factions against which the people demonstrated”, cowardly in Baghdad Mohammed Kassem, 45, who will not vote.

The same traditional blocs should preserve their representation in a fragmented parliament, where the lack of a clear majority forces parties to negotiate alliances, experts say.

Reinforced security

The ballot will take place under high security, in a country where the Islamic State group remains active. The airports closed on Saturday evening and will not reopen until dawn on Monday. Travel between provinces is prohibited and restaurants and shopping centers must remain closed.

As all or almost all political parties have their own armed factions, the fear of electoral violence and fraud is on everyone’s mind.

“On polling day, Iraqis must be confident to vote as they wish, in an environment free from all pressure, intimidation and threat,” the UN mission in Iraq pleaded on Friday.

Some 25 million voters are called to the polls. But to participate in the electronic vote and choose from among the more than 3,240 candidates, they will have to be provided with a biometric card.

The election of the 329 deputies is done according to a new electoral law, which establishes a first past the post and increases the number of constituencies to encourage, in theory, independents and local candidates.

The preliminary results are expected within 24 hours after the closing of the polling stations and the final results in ten days, according to the electoral commission.

Uncertain outcome

The Sadrist current is given a big favorite. Its leader, the sulphurous Moqtada al-Sadr, ex-militia leader with anti-American rhetoric, already holds the largest block in the outgoing Parliament.

But he will have to deal with the great pro-Iran rivals of Hachd al-Chaabi, who entered parliament for the first time in 2018, riding on victory against the jihadists of ISIS.

If the political scene remains polarized on the same sensitive issues – whether it is the presence of American troops or the influence of the big Iranian neighbor – the parties will begin very long negotiations to agree on a new Prime Minister, a position which traditionally returns. to a Shia Muslim.

“The election will probably give birth to another fragmented Parliament. There will follow opaque bargaining among the various factions to form the next government,” summarize researchers Bilal Wahab and Calvin Wilder in an analysis published by the Washington Institute.

Difficult to see in this election “more than a game of musical chairs”, they add. And the demands of the protest – fight against corruption, create jobs, hold armed groups to account – “are unlikely to be met”.

With AFP