Iraq holds its first parliamentary election since Daesh defeat
Iraqis vote today in the first parliamentary election since the country declared victory over the Daesh terrorist group. There are 329 seats at stake, with nearly 7,000 candidates from dozens of different political alliances, AP reported.
Iraq’s three main ethnic and religious groups, the majority Shia Arabs and the minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds, have been at loggerheads for decades and the sectarian rifts are as apparent as ever 15 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Whoever wins the May 12 election will face the challenge of rebuilding Iraq after four years of war with Daesh terrorists, jump-starting a flagging economy, balancing the interests of powerful foreign patrons and maintaining the country’s fragile unity in the face of sectarian and separatist tensions, Reuters wrote.
Few foresee a dramatic government shake-up, however.
The most powerful alliances expected to win the most seats are headed by the same parties that have dominated Iraqi politics since 2003.
Prime Minister Haider al-abadi is seeking to retain his post but faces stiff competition from his predecessor, Nouri al-maliki, and the Fatah alliance of candidates who have close ties to the powerful, mostly Shia, paramilitary forces.
Fatah is headed by Hadi al-amiri, a former minister of transport who became a senior commander of paramilitary fighters in the fight against the Daesh group. Many of the candidates on his list were also paramilitary commanders before they cut their official ties with the force in order to seek office.
Influential cleric Muqtada al-sadr also leads an alliance. He commanded fighters in the war against Daesh and headed a powerful militia that fought US forces in Iraq before that, but his campaign has focused on social issues and eliminating government corruption.
Because so many different political alliances are running, no one group is seen as being able to win the 165 seats required for an outright majority. Instead, the bloc that wins the most seats will have to cobble together a majority by getting the support of smaller alliances.
The process of choosing the next prime minister is expected to take months and probably result in power being dispersed across different political parties with clashing interests. The current government is similarly fractured, making it almost impossible to pass legislation.
Until a new prime minister is chosen, alabadi will remain in office, retaining all his power.
The independent body overseeing the election is estimating high turnout, because it comes amid a relative lull in terrorist attacks.
An electronic voting system is being used for the first time this year to try to reduce fraud and speed up the counting process. Results will be released within 48 hours of Saturday’s poll close, according to the independent body overseeing the elections.