Basra, Iraq: blinking in the bright light of a hotel ballroom in southern Iraq, Well Makhsusi Argued his case for a younger audience.
Microphone in hand, engineer in his 30s stands on stage in Basra with other rookie candidates in Sunday’s parliamentary election. Among them were independents and hopefuls drawn from street protests two years ago, angered about high unemployment, government corruption and lack of basic services like electricity and water.
If elected, Makhsoosi told the crowd, he would fight tirelessly for their rights, but a spectacled man who stood by was not buying it. “You painted such a rosy dream for us, but I’m not sure I should vote for you,” the crowd applauded.
Scenes from last month underscored the difficulties facing candidates: they are asking Iraq’s disillusioned youth, the country’s largest demographic, to rely on an electoral process that has been tainted by manipulation and fraud in the past. But apathy and mistrust are widespread, and some of the same pro-reform activists whose protests led to a vote in 2019 are now calling for a boycott of the elections after a series of targeted killings.
“Choice Won’t Be Right,” Accepted Candidate noureddin nasaro in Basra, but he said that even if it only improved by a third compared to the past, it would be “better than the current system”.
workers like Nasir A concession to the reformers – pinning their hopes on a redrawn map of electoral districts and arguing that voting is the only way to change.
“We have a new generation born after 2001, who are now eligible to vote,” said independent candidate from Basra, Awtef Rasheed. “I’m counting on this generation.”
The increased number of districts allows for better local representation and increases the chances of independent candidates winning. In addition, 70% of registered voters will use biometric cards, eliminating the multiple-voting that affected the 2018 election.
Only 44% of eligible voters turned out in that poll – a record low since the US-led invasion toppled the Iraqi leader. Saddam Hussein.
Changes in the electoral law fell short of the demands of the protesters. Activists wanted more in smaller districts, but after 11 months of negotiations, lawmakers agreed to 83, up from 18. Lines were drawn to facilitate 25% participation quota by women for 329 Parliament seats.
Smaller districts also favor powerful local tribes and religious figures, and mainstream parties have already forged an alliance with them.
Nevertheless, the new law paved the way for parties to emerge from the protests, such as the Imtidad movement, which is expected to do well in the southern province of Nasiriyah, a flashpoint in the demonstrations. One of its candidates is Makhsusi, who says he wants to dismantle the stagnant political establishment.
But it also helped better funded and more experienced mainstream grassroots parties such as the populist cleric’s Saddarist Movement muqtada al-sadri, whose party has won the maximum number of seats in 2018. Its members are already expecting a favorable outcome.
“The Sadrist movement will get a lot of voters because we have our people in the city of Basra,” said Mohammed al-Tamimi, a Sadr official and Basra’s deputy governor.
His calculations depend on the assumption that people like Wissam Adnan will not vote. He is the founder of Jobs in Basra, a social media platform designed to help the unemployed in the city. “None of them have made any difference for the people, so why should we vote for them?” Adnan said about those in power. It is a popular opinion in Basra, which, despite its oil wealth, is plagued by poverty, unemployment and creaking. Infrastructure that saves dirty tap water and old power outages.
“Given the absence of credible alternatives and the overwhelming sentiment among Iraqis that the system is immune to internal reforms, the choice not to vote may be the only means for the voter to express disapproval of the status quo,” said Randa Slim, a Washington-based Middle East Institute.
More than 600 people were killed in October 2019 in mass protests, known in Arabic as the Tishreen Revolution for that month. Security forces used ammunition and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The protests stopped after a few months because of the brutal crackdown and the coronavirus pandemic. But since then, 35 people have been killed in targeted killings of activists, protest organizers and independent candidates, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. According to the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, another 82 people were wounded in an attempt by militia groups to kill several suspects.
The call for a boycott of the election was particularly strong following the killing of prominent activist Ehab al-Wazni in Karbala this summer. There have been vocal calls for serious efforts to bring weapons under state control – a tall order in a country full of militias and guns.
Among the groups trying to consolidate their political dominance through elections are hardline Shia militias backed by Iran.
The United Nations is launching a rare surveillance mission that many hope will boost voting, and Iraq’s election commission is working to address systemic loopholes exploited by the elite. But some parties are adopting ghastly tactics of buying votes through favors, jobs and cash.
Ali Hussain, a young religious scholar running as an independent, admitted that he did not know how to get people to vote for him.
“I am shocked by the requests of people demanding roads, electricity. Some candidates are giving food to people to vote, or taking their personal information and telling them, ‘If you vote for me, I will give you food’. I’ll hire you.” he said. ‘This has created confusion as to what our duties are supposed to be and we don’t know how to talk to people.’
In the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, women were promised new abayas – loose robes worn by many Iraqis – to vote for a specific candidate. In Basra’s Zubair neighborhood, a party is helping residents sort out bureaucratic paperwork. Others said that the militias offered to protect their communities if they voted for their parties.
Such gimmicks are being used long before election day, few trust the United Nations election watchers.
For months, the United Nations has been providing Iraq’s election commission with technical assistance to plug loopholes exploited by the parties. According to three UN officials, an important condition was that ballots would not be transferred to individual polling stations before the initial count, eliminating the possibility of manipulation.
Back at the Basra rally, a dark mood descended on the audience as Ali Abdel Hussein al-Eidani told the candidates that his son had been killed during the protest.
“Will you take revenge on him?” asked the old man, tears welling up in his eyes.
The moderator, activist Ahmed Yasseri, stepped in to kick back talk of rising turnout for the election.
“We want to see the future. We don’t want any more blood,” he said.
Microphone in hand, engineer in his 30s stands on stage in Basra with other rookie candidates in Sunday’s parliamentary election. Among them were independents and hopefuls drawn from street protests two years ago, angered about high unemployment, government corruption and lack of basic services like electricity and water.
If elected, Makhsoosi told the crowd, he would fight tirelessly for their rights, but a spectacled man who stood by was not buying it. “You painted such a rosy dream for us, but I’m not sure I should vote for you,” the crowd applauded.
Scenes from last month underscored the difficulties facing candidates: they are asking Iraq’s disillusioned youth, the country’s largest demographic, to rely on an electoral process that has been tainted by manipulation and fraud in the past. But apathy and mistrust are widespread, and some of the same pro-reform activists whose protests led to a vote in 2019 are now calling for a boycott of the elections after a series of targeted killings.
“Choice Won’t Be Right,” Accepted Candidate noureddin nasaro in Basra, but he said that even if it only improved by a third compared to the past, it would be “better than the current system”.
workers like Nasir A concession to the reformers – pinning their hopes on a redrawn map of electoral districts and arguing that voting is the only way to change.
“We have a new generation born after 2001, who are now eligible to vote,” said independent candidate from Basra, Awtef Rasheed. “I’m counting on this generation.”
The increased number of districts allows for better local representation and increases the chances of independent candidates winning. In addition, 70% of registered voters will use biometric cards, eliminating the multiple-voting that affected the 2018 election.
Only 44% of eligible voters turned out in that poll – a record low since the US-led invasion toppled the Iraqi leader. Saddam Hussein.
Changes in the electoral law fell short of the demands of the protesters. Activists wanted more in smaller districts, but after 11 months of negotiations, lawmakers agreed to 83, up from 18. Lines were drawn to facilitate 25% participation quota by women for 329 Parliament seats.
Smaller districts also favor powerful local tribes and religious figures, and mainstream parties have already forged an alliance with them.
Nevertheless, the new law paved the way for parties to emerge from the protests, such as the Imtidad movement, which is expected to do well in the southern province of Nasiriyah, a flashpoint in the demonstrations. One of its candidates is Makhsusi, who says he wants to dismantle the stagnant political establishment.
But it also helped better funded and more experienced mainstream grassroots parties such as the populist cleric’s Saddarist Movement muqtada al-sadri, whose party has won the maximum number of seats in 2018. Its members are already expecting a favorable outcome.
“The Sadrist movement will get a lot of voters because we have our people in the city of Basra,” said Mohammed al-Tamimi, a Sadr official and Basra’s deputy governor.
His calculations depend on the assumption that people like Wissam Adnan will not vote. He is the founder of Jobs in Basra, a social media platform designed to help the unemployed in the city. “None of them have made any difference for the people, so why should we vote for them?” Adnan said about those in power. It is a popular opinion in Basra, which, despite its oil wealth, is plagued by poverty, unemployment and creaking. Infrastructure that saves dirty tap water and old power outages.
“Given the absence of credible alternatives and the overwhelming sentiment among Iraqis that the system is immune to internal reforms, the choice not to vote may be the only means for the voter to express disapproval of the status quo,” said Randa Slim, a Washington-based Middle East Institute.
More than 600 people were killed in October 2019 in mass protests, known in Arabic as the Tishreen Revolution for that month. Security forces used ammunition and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The protests stopped after a few months because of the brutal crackdown and the coronavirus pandemic. But since then, 35 people have been killed in targeted killings of activists, protest organizers and independent candidates, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. According to the Iraqi Human Rights Commission, another 82 people were wounded in an attempt by militia groups to kill several suspects.
The call for a boycott of the election was particularly strong following the killing of prominent activist Ehab al-Wazni in Karbala this summer. There have been vocal calls for serious efforts to bring weapons under state control – a tall order in a country full of militias and guns.
Among the groups trying to consolidate their political dominance through elections are hardline Shia militias backed by Iran.
The United Nations is launching a rare surveillance mission that many hope will boost voting, and Iraq’s election commission is working to address systemic loopholes exploited by the elite. But some parties are adopting ghastly tactics of buying votes through favors, jobs and cash.
Ali Hussain, a young religious scholar running as an independent, admitted that he did not know how to get people to vote for him.
“I am shocked by the requests of people demanding roads, electricity. Some candidates are giving food to people to vote, or taking their personal information and telling them, ‘If you vote for me, I will give you food’. I’ll hire you.” he said. ‘This has created confusion as to what our duties are supposed to be and we don’t know how to talk to people.’
In the Baghdad suburb of Sadr City, women were promised new abayas – loose robes worn by many Iraqis – to vote for a specific candidate. In Basra’s Zubair neighborhood, a party is helping residents sort out bureaucratic paperwork. Others said that the militias offered to protect their communities if they voted for their parties.
Such gimmicks are being used long before election day, few trust the United Nations election watchers.
For months, the United Nations has been providing Iraq’s election commission with technical assistance to plug loopholes exploited by the parties. According to three UN officials, an important condition was that ballots would not be transferred to individual polling stations before the initial count, eliminating the possibility of manipulation.
Back at the Basra rally, a dark mood descended on the audience as Ali Abdel Hussein al-Eidani told the candidates that his son had been killed during the protest.
“Will you take revenge on him?” asked the old man, tears welling up in his eyes.
The moderator, activist Ahmed Yasseri, stepped in to kick back talk of rising turnout for the election.
“We want to see the future. We don’t want any more blood,” he said.
.