Iraqi parliamentary election turnout rate is “low” after voting to end election news

As many people lost confidence in the democratic system brought about by the US-led invasion of 2003, voting for the Iraqi parliamentary election ended on Sunday and the turnout rate was very low.

Election officials said that the voter turnout in parliamentary elections was the lowest in record. According to statistics from the Election Committee at the polling station, this seems to be the lowest turnout rate since 2003.

Two election committee officials said that as of noon, the national voter turnout rate was 19%. The voter turnout in the last election in 2018 was 44.5%.

The established, Shia-dominated ruling elite, dominated by Shiites and armed with the most powerful party, is expected to sweep the vote. A movement led by populist Shia scholar Muktada Sadr—— He opposes all foreign interference, and his main rival is the Shia group allied with Iran-regarded as the largest faction in the parliament.

Iraqi officials, foreign diplomats and analysts said that such a result would not significantly change the balance of power in Iraq or the wider Middle East. But for Iraqis, this may mean that former armed group leader and religious conservative Sadr may increase his influence on the government.

After 11 hours of voting, voting ended at 6 pm (15:00 GMT). According to an independent agency that monitors Iraq’s elections, the results are expected to be announced within the next 48 hours. However, negotiations to select the prime minister responsible for forming the government are expected to last for weeks or even months.

In a speech in Baghdad, the independent Iraqi politician and former government economic adviser, Majin Eshakir said that the low turnout rate in Sunday’s voting will affect the legitimacy of the democratically elected government—just like in 2018.

“We got back to about 20% [turnout]. We will have to respect the results, but we are back to purple finger fatigue,” al-Eshaikir told Al Jazeera.

“People have participated in the polls for 18 years, but they can’t see any changes, people are tired of it.”

The elections were held months in advance under a new law designed to help independent candidates-a response to massive anti-government protests two years ago.

In Baghdad, high school teacher Abdul Ameer Hassan al-Saadi said he boycotted the election.

“My 17-year-old son Hussein was killed by a tear gas canister fired by the police during the Baghdad protests, and I lost him,” said Saadi, whose house is near a polling station in the Karadag Shiite Baghdad district.

“I will not vote for killers and corrupt politicians because the trauma that my mother and I suffered after losing our child is still bleeding.”

‘hope’

In Sulaymaniyah in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, Sylvan Hama Faraj, an observer of the Islamic Union of Kurdistan, told Al Jazeera that “75% of people boycott voting because they have lost hope in the election process.”

Artist Barzan Wahab said that people were frustrated with the election, but he pointed out that due to the bloody protests in October 2019, the political class did hold elections ahead of schedule.

“Despite the low turnout, this election will definitely change the political landscape of Iraq, because this early election is the result of protests in October,” Wahab told Al Jazeera.

The EU’s chief Iraqi election observer, Viola von Cramon, said low turnout means a lot.

“This is a clear… a political signal, one can only hope that Iraqi politicians and political elites will hear it,” she told reporters.

On Sunday, artist Barzan Wahab and his wife voted in Sulaymaniyah [Dana Taib Menmy/Al Jazeera]

Von Cramon said she did not witness any irregularities or technical issues during the voting. “Everything about preparation is well done,” she said.

The 23-year-old Rekar Muhammed, a new generation of opposition party observers in Sulaymaniyah Province, agreed. “We have not seen any violations or voter fraud attempts.”

Foreign influence

Some Iraqis are keen to vote in Iraq’s fifth parliamentary vote since 2003—and hope for change. In the northern city of Kirkuk, Abu Abdullah said he arrived at the polling station one hour before it opened.

“We expect the situation to improve significantly,” he said.

According to the Election Commission, at least 167 political parties and more than 3,200 candidates are competing for 329 seats in the parliament. The Iraqi elections are often followed by long-term negotiations between the president, the prime minister, and the cabinet.

Prime Minister Mustafa Kadimi did not participate in the election, but negotiations after the vote may allow him to get a second term. Al-Kadhimi, who is regarded as friendly to the West, has no support for him.

The Kurds have two main parties ruling the Kurdish Autonomous Region, while the Sunnis have two main camps this time.

Kadimi told reporters during the vote: “I call on the Iraqi people: there is still time. Go out and vote for Iraq and vote for your future.”

The Kadimi government called a vote in advance in response to the 2019 protests against the overthrow of the previous government.

The protesters’ demands include the replacement of a ruling elite that most Iraqis consider corrupt. The demonstration was brutally suppressed, and about 600 people were killed in a few months.

Since Iraq defeated the armed group Islamic State (ISIS) with the help of the international military alliance and Iran in 2017, the country has been safer than it has been in many years, and violent sectarianism has decreased. But corruption and mismanagement mean that many of Iraq’s 40 million people lack jobs, health care, education, and electricity.

“Why don’t I vote? Because I don’t have confidence in people. What did they do when we elected them?” asked Mohamed Hassan, a resident of Basra. “Look at garbage, filth… where are the projects of the previous government?”

On the one hand, the United States, the Gulf Arabs, and Israel, and on the other hand, Iran’s competition to influence Iraq. This provides Tehran with a gateway to support the Syrian and Lebanese armed allies.

The US invasion in 2003 overthrew the Sunni Muslim Saddam Hussein and seized the power of the Shiite and Kurds, who are the majority in the country, who were oppressed under Saddam’s rule.

It has triggered years of sectarian violence, including ISIL occupying one-third of the country between 2014 and 2017.

Additional reporting by Dana Taib Menmy from Sulaymaniyah