Widespread boycott of vote drops turnout to under 45%

BAGHDAD — Since Iraq began holding free and fair elections in 2005, voting trends were traditionally looked at through the prism of the nation’s dominant religious sects and ethnicities: Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish.

But the day after Saturday’s national election, the conversation on Iraq’s airwaves, social media and streets has revolved around an unexpected new constituency: boycotters.

Less than 45 percent of Iraq’s 22 million eligible voters turned out for the parliamentary election, held five months after the Islamic State militant group’s three-year occupation of major Iraqi cities was defeated in a costly and bloody war. The low turnout was at odds with predictions that voters would throng the polls in a harbinger of a new era in Iraqi politics.

The number reflects a steep decline in the rate of Iraqi voter participation, which was 62 percent in the 2014 and 2010 elections and hit a peak of 70 percent in 2005.

The official results of the Saturday vote are expected Monday.

Many of those who stayed home said it was an act of protest, not a lack of interest. They cited displeasure with Iraq’s complicated election system, which rewards name recognition over political platforms, and a lack of confidence that the same old faces that led the ballot lists would deliver on job opportunities and lasting security.

Others said they hoped their boycott would force a national reckoning over what they regard as a stagnation of Iraq’s political and social order in the years since dictator Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

“I participated in all the previous elections, yet there was no change. We demonstrated against the electoral system, but no one listened,” said Mustafa Sadoon, a Baghdad-based writer. “I didn’t find any other choice to express my rejection except to boycott.”

Iraq’s government celebrated the election, however, citing the absence of any terrorist attacks at the polling stations and any reports of widespread irregularities or fraud.