BAGHDAD, Iraq – With Iraq reeling under surging sectarian violence and next week holding its first nationwide elections since US forces pulled out in 2011, citizens and analysts worry there is little hope for the country to recover.
Political blocs, they say, are trying to capitalize on sectarian divisions to win votes.
“The leaders of the main political groups are fighting among themselves,” complained Mohammed Salem, a 43-year-old resident of Baghdad. “The political besmirching means the upcoming election will not pull the country out of this sectarian abyss and the social ills that come with it. Each group is trying to win over its supporters according to their identity and religious affiliations.”
The April 30 elections come at a time of surging violence for a year. Sectarian differences, unleashed after the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, are spinning out of control.
The Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has alienated both of Iraq’s large minorities, the Sunnis and Kurds.
Government troops are locked in fighting with Sunni tribes and insurgents in Anbar province, with fears the elections cannot be held in the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi because of the violence. That means that hundreds of thousands of Sunnis may not be able to vote, potentially adding to the Sunni anger against the government.
The autonomous Kurds in the north, meanwhile, say they have no faith left in Maliki’s government, or indeed in Iraq itself. They have been threatening to turn the Kurdistan Region into a breakaway independent state over serious disputes with Baghdad over oil exports and their share of the national budget.
“It’s been 10 years of conflicts, destruction, devastation and the loss of security -- all of it suffered by ordinary, helpless citizens,” decried Salwa Saeed, a 31-year-old employee. “And now, the candidates are counting on divisions to win votes, because they know that sectarian differences have taken root in the hearts and minds of a lot of citizens,” she explained. “We hope that people will make the right choice this time at the polls.”
Analysts note that the security situation is as bad as the first post-Saddam elections in 2005, when suicide bombings and attacks by al-Qaeda insurgents meant a dismal turnout by voters.
“We are suffering and are in crisis because no one is involved in state building,” said analyst Hussein Darwish al-Adli. “The ‘sectarian race’ that has been adopted by politicians will continue as long as the rhetoric of sectarianism is allowed to continue,” he said. “The state authorities are divided along sectarian and ethnic lines, so it is hard to call Iraq a state. This is an authority falsely pretending to be a state.”
As the election date approaches, the campaign propaganda of the different political blocs is in full swing in all Iraqi provinces.
Analysts and citizens complain that the different religious and ethnic groups fighting for a greater say in the Iraqi parliament are paying less heed every day to regulations set by election authorities regarding campaign propaganda and rhetoric.
Meanwhile, they say, Iraqi citizens live in a state of resentment, frustration and lack of interest in the election campaigns. There are even fears that the polls may not be held on time, and that even if they are held there will be no dampening of the bloodshed.
“Iraq is divided into three groups, the Kurds, Sunnis and Shiites,” explained Jawad al-Bazouni, an independent MP. “Thus, the Kurds will not elect a non-Kurd, the Sunnis will not vote for a Shiite and a Shiite will not be elected by a Sunni.”
Bazouni noted there were differences not only among the three main groups, but also inside each one. “There are rivalries, and this is clearly noticeable,” he added.
The election campaigns were launched in the beginning of April, and are due to end 48 hours before polls open. More than 9,000 candidates are competing for the 328 seats in the Iraqi parliament.
