Ahmed Rasheed, John Davison

BAGHDAD (Reuters – Soldiers as well as prisoners and displaced persons voted in an early election in Iraq on Friday, ahead of a general election scheduled for Sunday. The turnout at the polls will reflect how faith-based voters are in a relatively young democracy.

Many Iraqis say they will not vote https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraqis-vote-ballot-marked-by-growing-social-political-fractures-2021-09-28, having watched established parties they do not trust sweep successive elections and bring little improvement to their lives.

As has been the practice since 2003, groups drawn from the Shiite Muslim majority will continue to hold the reins.

Iraq is now safer than ever before and violence is much less common since the defeat of Islamic State by Iraq in 2017, with help from an international coalition of military forces and Iran.

Many people, who number in the region of 40 million, are unable to work due to corruption and poor management. They also lack electricity, healthcare and education.

Friday’s early vote included votes among more than 1 million persons still displaced by the fight against Islamic State.

Others said that they could not or would not vote.

A 45-year old woman named Umm Amir said, “I was married in the camp I call home and neither my husband nor I will vote.” Talking by telephone, she did not reveal her location.

“Politicians met us prior to the 2018 election, and they promised that we would be able to return to our communities.” It never happened. “We’ve been forgotten.”

Many of Iraq’s internally displaced people live in northern Iraq, which is predominantly Sunni.

Although the Islamic State spared much of the destruction to the south (the heartlands for Shi’ite parties), infrastructure and services remain in poor condition.

2019 PROTESTS

The 2019 anti-government demonstrations that swept through Baghdad in the south toppled the government, forcing the Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government to hold elections six months ahead of schedule.

A new voting law was also adopted by the government. It is hoped that this will allow for more independent voices to be heard in parliament, and help with reform. This government is trying to promote a higher turnout.

The reality, according to many Iraqis, Western diplomats and analysts, is that the bigger, more established parties https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/whos-competing-iraqs-elections-2021-09-28 will sweep the vote once again.

Since the protests in 2019, dozens of opposition activists have been killed and threatened, leading many reformists to withdraw from the election. Officials in Iraq blame Iran-linked armed groups for the deaths, something that these groups refute.