Big blocs lurk behind ‘independents’
Iraqi youths fear new faces mask the return of old-style politics in next election, writes Salam Faraj
When Iraqis go to the polls on Sunday, they will vote for individual candidates rather than parties for the first time under a new electoral law meant to appease a youth-led protest movement fed up with the country’s oldstyle politics.
In theory, the changes will strengthen local voices as candidates can now run at the district level and as independents, allowing new hopefuls such as tribal leaders, business people and civil society activists to join the race.
But the shadow of Iraq’s traditional political blocs, which are mostly defined by religious sect or ethnic group, still hovers over many of the candidates who claim to be nonaligned, raising questions about the impact of the reform.
On campaign posters, many of the more than 3,200 hopefuls seeking office declare themselves to be free of affiliations with the powerful blocs in parliament — but not everyone is convinced.
For many, it’s simply an “electoral manoeuvre”, argued political scientist Ihsan al-Shammari, saying they don’t want to be associated with the entrenched forces widely blamed for inept governance, graft and shady backroom deal-making, which led to the recent deadly protests across Iraq.
The protests prompted Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi to move forward the ballot originally scheduled for 2022, and authorities to reform the election rules — but many of the activists and parties behind the uprising are boycotting the vote.
The new electoral law theoretically favours local candidates — which means tribal figures or local potentates — as the number of electoral districts has been increased to 83. Previously, under the list-based system, Iraq’s electorate was divided according to the 18 governorates.
Now, all across the country, many candidates are calling themselves “independents”, despite having had partisan affiliations in the past.
This is occurring across the political spectrum — from the movement of firebrand Shia Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr, to the coalition of secular former vice-president Iyad Allawi and to the
State of Law Alliance of former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki.
One candidate, Ines Naji al-Maksousi, standing for office in the city of Kut, said: “I was an independent candidate within the Sadrists. Today, I am an independent candidate”.
If elected, Ms Maksousi does not rule out eventually siding with a bloc in parliament, where 329 seats are up for grabs.
“It’s possible, if there is a convergence of vision with a political tendency or deputies, and if that serves our electorate,” she said.
I was an independent candidate within the Sadrists. Today, I am an independent candidate. INES NAJI AL-MAKSOUSI ELECTION CANDIDATE