The Iraqi Election Commission resolves 329 appeals in the local elections
The Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq received 329 appeals in the local elections that took place last month, in 15 irregular governorates in the region.
Jumana Al-Ghalai, the official spokesperson for the Commission, said on Monday: “Baghdad had the highest number of appeals. There were 45 appeals, and the lowest number was in Maysan Governorate, with only eight appeals.
Al-Ghalai indicated in a statement to the Arab World News Agency that “yesterday (Sunday) the Commission sent the first batch of appeals to the judicial body.”
Polling centers for the general elections in various Iraqi cities opened their doors on Monday, December 18, to voters for general voting in 15 governorates, under strict security measures. On Saturday, December 16, special voting took place, which included all security forces and the displaced.
Much less than half of Iraqi voters participated in the local elections (AFP)
More than 16 million biometrically registered voters, out of about 21 million Iraqis of voting age, are entitled to participate in the elections.
39 alliances, 29 parties, and 5,906 candidates competed for 275 seats in local councils in the fifteen governorates, including 70 seats reserved exclusively for women according to the “quota system” according to the constitution.
The number of electoral centers reached 7,166 for general voting and 565 for private voting, of which 35 centers were allocated for displaced people from areas liberated from ISIS.
Appeals regulations
Al-Ghalai expected that the Commission would finish organizing its regulations for appeals by the end of this week. She said: “It is likely that answers to the appeals will be obtained within the next three days with great accuracy and extensive study. In preparation for sending it to the judicial body.”
She revealed, “A new batch of appeals has been prepared, which has been studied and completed, and will be sent to the judicial body within the next two days for the purpose of deciding on them.”
For its part, the Federal Election Commission suspended all relatives of the candidates who are Commission employees from working on voting day, and formed a committee that works to verify this information with other state institutions in cooperation with the United Nations in a step aimed at enhancing the integrity of the elections.
Al-Ghalai explained that the Election Commission “is working in full swing to prepare the response list regarding appeals to the judicial body.” She said: “The period specified according to Election Commission Law No. 39 of 2019 is seven working days, to complete the response lists regarding the submitted appeals; But we at the Commission are working to complete it in a much shorter period, to send it to the judicial body, which has 10 days to decide on appeals… The decisions of the judicial body are not subject to appeal, and they are final and final.”
For his part, the Secretary-General of the Election Commission, Ali Faisal, said in statements to local media on Monday: “Yesterday we sent the first batch of answers to the appeals to the esteemed judicial body.”
An elderly woman participates in the local elections in Iraq in the Basra district, last December 18 (AP)
“Arab bloc” in Kirkuk
In a related context, three winning electoral lists representing the Arabs in the Iraqi province of Kirkuk, namely the “Arab Alliance”, the “Leadership” Alliance, and the “Arabism” Alliance, announced their unification in the “Arab Bloc” in the new Provincial Council.
Rakan Saeed al-Jubouri, the current governor of Kirkuk and head of the “Arab Alliance” list, said in a brief statement on Sunday: “We – the winners – from the three Arab lists, (the Arab Alliance), the (Leadership) Alliance, and the (Arabism) Alliance, announce the formation of a unified bloc in the name of ( The Arab Bloc) in the Kirkuk Provincial Council to preserve the rights of our voters and achieve peaceful coexistence among all components,” according to what was reported by the Arab World News Agency.
In the results of the Kirkuk elections, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party, led by Bafel Talabani, won five out of 16 seats, while the Arab lists won six seats, while the United Iraqi Turkmen Front and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Masoud Barzani, each won two seats. For each of them, in addition to one seat for Christians according to the “quota” system according to the amended election law.
The seats of the six Arab lists were distributed to the “Arab Alliance” led by Governor Rakan Saeed Al-Jubouri, which won three seats; The “Leadership” coalition of the “Taqaddum” Party, led by former Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi, won two seats. The “Al-Orouba” alliance, affiliated with Representative Wasfi Al-Assi, won one seat.
Kirkuk is one of the disputed areas between Erbil and Baghdad, and is covered by Article 140 of the Constitution. It was subject to a joint authority between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government before the independence referendum held by the region in September 2017.
Article 140 stipulates the removal of demographic policies carried out by the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein in the disputed areas for the Arabs at the expense of the Kurds, and then a census of the population before the final step, which is holding a referendum according to which the population determines whether they wish to join the Kurdistan region or remain. Under the administration of Baghdad.
What are provincial councils?
The provincial councils in Iraq are considered the legislative and supervisory authority in each governorate, as these elected councils have the right to issue local legislation to enable them to manage their affairs in accordance with the principle of administrative decentralization.
The elections are seen as an initial opportunity for the political forces to map out their control over the land, the weight of the strongholds of their supporters, and the distribution of power in the governorates. In preparation for the general parliamentary elections, which often follow a year or more.
Local elections were held in Iraq for the first time without the participation of the Sadrist movement, after its leader, the cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, decided to withdraw from the political process in mid-June 2022, following disagreements with the rest of the Shiite blocs over the type of the current government before its formation and clashing with the obstructing third for several months. This forced him to withdraw from Parliament and the political process.
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2024-01-01 17:50:51
