Iraq
An Iraqi woman shows her ink-stained finger after voting in the first provincial council elections in a decade, at a polling station in Iraq's southern city of Basra, on December 18, 2023. The vote comes at a time of widespread disillusionment among the country's 43 million inhabitants, with endemic corruption eating away at the oil-rich nation. Hussein Faleh/AFP
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Prominent Iraqi Shiite leader Hadi al-Amiri on Monday expressed his satisfaction with the voter turnout for the provincial elections, stressing the need to figure out the reasons that have led many people to skip participating and resolving them.
“We are satisfied with the voter turnout in the elections,” Amiri, leader of the We Build alliance for the provincial council elections, told reporters on Monday
“We are satisfied with those who participated, and satisfied with those who did not participate as well, because they are our people and we must search for the reasons that led to non-participation and address them in order for there to be serious participation,” he added.
Amiri expressed hope that the elections result in setting qualified governors who will work on integrating the work of the federal government and the local governments.
Iraq held its long-anticipated provincial elections in 15 provinces on Monday. The last provincial council elections took place in 2013, without Kirkuk. The councils were dissolved in 2019 in response to demands by Tishreen protesters who criticized the system for its failures and for enabling corruption. After several delays, the election date was set for December 18.
The provincial councils were created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. They hold significant power, including setting budgets for several key sectors such as education, health, and transport, but are accused of being rife with corruption.
Early voting for the provincial council elections were held on Saturday, with more than one million military personnel and internally displaced persons (IDPs) eligible to vote, including over 48,000 IDPs living in camps in the Kurdistan Region.
Spokesperson for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Jumana al-Ghalai on Saturday evening said that the turnout for early voting was “unprecedented in any electoral process,” with around 67 percent of eligible voters participating.
“We are satisfied with the voter turnout in the elections,” Amiri, leader of the We Build alliance for the provincial council elections, told reporters on Monday
“We are satisfied with those who participated, and satisfied with those who did not participate as well, because they are our people and we must search for the reasons that led to non-participation and address them in order for there to be serious participation,” he added.
Amiri expressed hope that the elections result in setting qualified governors who will work on integrating the work of the federal government and the local governments.
Iraq held its long-anticipated provincial elections in 15 provinces on Monday. The last provincial council elections took place in 2013, without Kirkuk. The councils were dissolved in 2019 in response to demands by Tishreen protesters who criticized the system for its failures and for enabling corruption. After several delays, the election date was set for December 18.
The provincial councils were created by the 2005 Iraqi constitution following the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime. They hold significant power, including setting budgets for several key sectors such as education, health, and transport, but are accused of being rife with corruption.
Early voting for the provincial council elections were held on Saturday, with more than one million military personnel and internally displaced persons (IDPs) eligible to vote, including over 48,000 IDPs living in camps in the Kurdistan Region.
Spokesperson for Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Jumana al-Ghalai on Saturday evening said that the turnout for early voting was “unprecedented in any electoral process,” with around 67 percent of eligible voters participating.
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