Iraq
Security forces enter parliament session on March 26, 2023 to contain protesting lawmakers in Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: Social Media
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi parliament early Monday voted to amend the country’s electoral system, with chaos erupting as dozens of protesting lawmakers were forcefully removed from the session by security forces.
The Iraqi legislative body adopted a new electoral constituency system for the 2021 parliamentary elections, which divided the provinces of the country into multiple voting districts rather than one sole district.
In a parliamentary session that started late Sunday and continued into early Monday, the legislature voted to restore the Sainte-Laguë voting method, which reverts back to the single-constituency per province system. The system will be used in the upcoming provincial council and parliamentary elections.
Videos emerged from the parliamentary session showing Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi calling out to security forces to contain the lawmakers who loudly voiced their disapproval to the voting method, claiming that the system favors candidates of popular political blocs over smaller and independent candidates.
Several MPs took to social media to continue voicing their opposition, calling the threats of terminating their membership in the council “a great honor.”
“These measures increase our will and give us strength in the face of those who want to dominate and seize power in various ways, at the expense of the people and their interests,” said Dawood Idan, Emtidad Movement MP, in a Facebook statement calling the use of security forces to remove the lawmakers “a dangerous precedent.”
The Emtidad Movement was formed by protesters of the popular 2019 Tishreen (October) demonstrations to contest the 2021 elections.
If an MP or a provincial council withdraws from their positions under the Sainte- Laguë system, their seat will be given to another member of their political party. Under the 2021 system, the seat would be given to the candidate with the second highest number of votes in their constituency, regardless of their party.
Protesters gathered in front of the Iraqi parliament building on early Sunday rejecting the restoration of the voting system.
Iraqis took to the streets in October 2019 in massive protests against corruption and unemployment and called for the provision of basic services. The protests resulted in early polls, but the elected legislature failed to form the country’s next cabinet over a year following the elections.
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