Legislative in Iraq: voters called to vote do not expect big changes – archyworldys

Between rampant corruption and the plethora of armed factions, voters don’t expect much change. The Iraqis began to vote on Sunday, October 10, during early legislative elections presented by the authorities as a concession in the face of a popular uprising.

In the deserted streets of Baghdad, police and soldiers are deployed at regular intervals to provide security. Dozens of international observers dispatched by the United Nations and the European Union are monitoring the process. The offices will close at 5:00 p.m. (Paris time), unless there is an extension.

As of the opening, the Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, voted in a polling station of the ultra-secure green zone of Baghdad. Calling on the Iraqis and “Those who hesitate”, he launched :

“It’s an opportunity for change (…). Get out there and vote, change your reality, for Iraq and for your future (…) Vote, vote, vote. “

In the process, the Shiite populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr, whose list is considered favorite, slipped his ballot into the urn in his stronghold in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad.

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A record abstention forecast

“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 brought us nothing. We want independents this time around ”, 37-year-old housewife Jimand Khalil explained at a polling station in a school in the center of the capital.

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

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

Read our report: “We must remain united until the fall of the regime”: in Baghdad, the protest against Tahrir Square resists repression

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”, loose in Baghdad Mohammed Kassem, 45, who will not vote.

Lack of a clear majority

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.

The ballot will take place under high security, in a country where the Islamic State (IS) group remains active. 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.

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 must have 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 twenty-four hours after the closing of the polling stations and the final results in ten days, according to the electoral commission.

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The World with AFP