/ world today news/ In December, an important event took place in the socio-political life of Iraq – elections were held for provincial councils. By law, they must be held every 4 years, but they have not happened since 2013. The authorities cited the fact that after the sharp rise of the Islamic State fighters* (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation) the elections were impossible to hold for security reasons, and after the 2019 protests, the provincial councils were completely disbanded.
Meanwhile, as Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani said, “the provinces, through their councils and governors, represent a vital second pillar of the state, playing a key role in supporting the federal government in the effective implementation of its programs.”
The prime minister called the vote “decisive” for the cabinet and urged voters to “actively participate in choosing the most qualified and capable people to represent the provinces, ensuring that they fulfill their responsibilities in accordance with the law and the constitution”.
After M. al-Sudani voted in Baghdad, he made another statement: “Elections for provincial councils serve as an essential element in the implementation of administrative decentralization.”
Of course, he is right that the vote is an indicator of the balance of power in the country and the next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2025.
This is not such a long period and the fate of the government, or rather its composition, will depend on the parliamentary elections. And in this connection, it is necessary to note a number of moments that will hardly improve the mood of the prime minister.
Military personnel, security personnel and police voted on December 16, and for the remaining categories of citizens, the process took place on December 18 – 7,166 polling stations were opened in 15 provinces of the country.
However, out of 23.6 million citizens with the right to vote (more than 43 million people live in the country), only 6.5 million voters took part in the elections, that is, the voter turnout was only 26%. This is a record low in Iraq’s recent history.
The provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan did not participate in the elections – the local authorities did not miss the opportunity to remind again that the autonomy, although de jure is considered part of the country, plays by its own rules.
In addition, the Kurds tried to block the vote in the disputed province of Kirkuk, where local elections have not been held since 2005. On December 12, the Federal Supreme Court rejected all challenges and voting took place, but there were problems with the reading of fingerprints and voting cards , which led to thousands of complaints.
This did not prevent the prime minister from thanking the electoral commission and all those who contributed to ensuring the “transparency and integrity” of the electoral process. Representatives of the Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party received the most seats in the provincial council, followed by the Sunni Arab list and the Turkmen list.
One result of the election was a clear polarization of voter opinion. The party of recently ousted parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi was expected to come out on top in the predominantly Sunni Muslim province of Anbar.
In a “surprise”, the Sunnis won 21 seats in Baghdad’s provincial council, just seven fewer than their Shiite opponents. The Sunnis gained leading positions based on the results of the vote in the provinces of Salah al-Din and Nainawa, but their success was limited to this.
At the same time, the influence of groups focused on neighboring Iran has sharply increased in the central and southern provinces. An important point is the consolidation of Shiite political groups, including radical ones.
Despite the fact that the influential Muqtada al-Sadr ignored the elections, the remaining Shia parties and movements declared that despite minor differences “they will rule together”.
They managed to create a so-called “coordination structure” that includes three main components: a group of supporters of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (and his State of Law party), a list that includes the cleric Amar al-Hakim and former Prime Minister Haidar al- -Abadi, as well as the Nabni (We Build) alliance, which included the leaders of the most radical groups.
It is the latter alliance that is of particular concern to Western experts, as it shows that anti-American and pro-Iranian paramilitary groups are uniting and intending to act together.
How serious this is is demonstrated by the fact that, for example, such hateful figures as Hadi al-Amiri (Badr Corps) and Qays al-Khazali (Asaib al-Haq) agreed. It was these forces that received the most votes in most of the southern provinces of the country.
An exception was made in Basra province, where the supporters of the current governor, Assad al-Idani, won, but we should not forget that Basra is the object of great attention from Iran and a significant part of the local population is much more loyal to Tehran than in Baghdad.
Translation: SM
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