Alwaght- Iraqi people headed to the polls in snap parliamentary elections that many hope will deliver much needed reforms after decades of conflict and mismanagement.
Polls opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) on Sunday, and will close at 6:00 p.m.
More than 25 million citizens are eligible to vote. Voters are supposed to present a biometric card for what is conceived as a fully electronic voting process. However, some have not received the cards and authorities say provisions have been made to ensure they are not excluded.
A total of 329 seats are up for grabs in the election. More than 3,240 candidates are in the running, including 950 women.
One-quarter of the seats are reserved for female candidates, and nine for minorities including Christians and Izadis.
The elections were originally planned to be held in 2020, but the date was brought forward in response to a mass protest movement that broke out in 2019 to call for economic reforms, better public services, and an effective fight against unemployment and corruption in state institution.
The vote is also taking place under a new election law that divides Iraq into smaller constituencies, another demand of the protesters, and allows for more independent candidates.
Around 600 international observers, including 150 from the United Nations, are monitoring the voting process.
“Iraqis should have the confidence to vote as they please, in an environment free of pressure, intimidation and threats,” the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said ahead of the polls.
Security forces, prisoners and those displaced by Daesh’s terror campaign voted in special early polls Friday, head of the countrywide general election.
The voting is underway under tight security, with all airports closed from Saturday evening to dawn on Monday across Iraq.
The rivals
The biggest bloc Sairoon, with 54 seats in the last assembly, is led by influential Shia Muslim scholar Muqtada al-Sadr. It is expected to strengthen its hold in parliament after scoring big in the 2018 elections.
Other major players are the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance led by Hadi al-Ameri, who also heads the Badr Organization, one of the factions of the anti-terror Hashd al-Sha’abi – now integrated into regular Iraqi armed forces, and a political movement called “Harakat Huqooq”. It is close to the Hezbollah Brigades, another group under operating under the command of Hashd al-Sha’abi.
Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who led Iraq from 2006 to 2014, heads the State of Law Alliance.
The Alliance of State Forces brings together factions aligned to former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and Shia cleric Ammar al-Hakim, who led the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq from 2009 to 2017.
Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, leads the Taqaddum (Progress) movement. It is an umbrella body for several Sunni parties, politicians, and tribal leaders from Baghdad and other provinces in the west and north of the country.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are also the two major Kurdish political factions in the elections.
‘A defining moment for Iraq’
Iraqi officials and top have been encouraging people for a large turnout in the election.
Iraqi President Barham Salih on Saturday said he believed a good turnout would be a “turning point” and a “defining moment.”
“It will close the road to saboteurs and to those who try to manipulate the fate of the country and the future of its people,” Salih stated.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi's political future hangs in the balance, with few observers willing to predict who will come out on top.
Iraqi elections are often followed by months of protracted negotiations over a president, a prime minister and a cabinet.
Security forces drove through the streets of Baghdad on Saturday, with loud speakers encouraging voters to cast their votes in Sunday’s general election.
“Voting leads to the achievement of your demands,” a recording blasting from the vehicle speakers said.
