Abadi in spot as Iraq poll sees low turnout
baghdad — Polls have closed across Iraq on Saturday evening in the first national election since the country declared victory over Daesh. The vote — the fourth since the 2003 US-led toppling of Saddam Hussein — was marked by reports of low turnout and irregularities.
Results are expected within the next 48 hours according to the independent body that oversees Iraq’s election, but negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for months.
Voting began early Saturday morning in a contest that had no clear front-runner after weeks of official campaigning. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s stiffest competition came from political parties with closer ties to Iran. Baghdad’s streets began to fill up with cars before voting concluded on Saturday evening after Abadi partially lifted a security curfew in an effort to improve turnout.
baghdad/basra — Iraqis voted on Saturday for the first time since the defeat of terrorist group Daesh, with Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi, a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, trying to fend off powerful Shia groups that would pull the country closer to Tehran.
Iraqis expressed pride at the prospect of voting for the fourth time since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein, but also said they had scant hope that the election would stabilise a country beset by conflicts, economic hardship and corruption.
Reuters reporters said voter turnout appeared to be low at several polling stations in Baghdad as well as Falluja to the west of the capital and Basra in the south.
Voters will pass their verdict on Abadi, who has achieved the delicate task of maintaining relationships with both of Iraq’s main allies who are otherwise arch enemies: Iran and the United States.
Whoever wins the election will have to contend with fallout from President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran, a move Iraqis fear could turn their country into a theatre of conflict between Washington and Tehran.
Abadi, who came to power four years ago after Daesh seized a third of the country, received US military support for Iraq’s army to defeat Daesh even as he gave free rein to Iran to back Shia militias fighting on the same side.
But now that the military campaign is over, he faces political threats from two main challengers: his predecessor Nuri Al Maliki, and the leader of the main Shia paramilitary group, Hadi Al Amiri, both closer than he is to Iran.
Iraq remains divided among its three main ethnic and religious groups — the majority Shia Arabs and minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds — at odds for decades. Past election outcomes have hinged on whether leading Shia parties could obtain enough seats to marginalise the other groups.
Iran has wide sway in Iraq as the primary Shia power in the region. But the United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam, occupied it until 2011 and sent troops back to help fight Daesh in 2014, also has deep influence.
Iran’s clout has caused resentment among Sunnis as well as some Shias, who have grown tired of religious leaders, parties and militias and want technocrats to rule the country.
Abadi is seen as the narrow frontrunner, but victory is far from certain. A British-educated engineer with no powerful political machine of his own when he took office, he solidified his standing with the victory over Daesh.
Although he has failed so far to improve the limping economy, his supporters say he is best placed to keep more overtly sectarian political leaders in check. “He’s non-sectarian and we like him,” said Um Laila in west Mosul, which suffered some of the heaviest damage during the war against Daesh. “He liberated Mosul.”
Even if Abadi’s Victory Alliance wins the most seats, he still must negotiate a coalition government, which must be formed within 90 days of the election.
One of his principal rivals, Amiri, 63, spent more than two decades fighting Saddam from exile in Iran and leads the biggest group of volunteer forces that fought Daesh. Victory for Amiri would be a clear win for Iran.
Opponents accuse Amiri’s Badr Organisation of abusing Sunnis during sectarian conflicts, and of taking orders from Iran. They say he achieved little in the powerful post of transport minister from 20102014. His supporters say he was pivotal in defeating Daesh and would offer stronger leadership than Abadi.
“I voted for Amiri because he is clean leader. Without him Daeshwould have been here,” said Raid Sabah, 39, who is struggling to make a living as a taxi driver in the southern city of Basra. “Abadi didn’t do anything.”
Other Iraqis are disillusioned with war heroes and politicians who have failed to restore state institutions and provide badly needed health and education services.
“We need neither tanks nor jets. We need only the ballot paper through which we can rectify the political process which was aborted by those who governed Iraq,” said labourer Khalid Al Shami, 50, at a polling station in Baghdad. —