Iraq's parliamentary vote marred by boycott, voter apathy
Source: AP
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis voted Sunday in parliamentary elections held months ahead of schedule as a concession to a youth-led popular uprising against corruption and mismanagement.
But the voting was marked by widespread apathy and a boycott by many of the young activists who thronged the streets of Baghdad and Iraq’s southern provinces in late 2019. Tens of thousands of people took part in the mass protests and were met by security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas. More than 600 people were killed and thousands injured within just a few months.
Although authorities gave in and called the early elections, the death toll and the heavy-handed crackdown - as well as a string of targeted assassinations - prompted many who took part in the protests to later call for a boycott of the vote.
Polls closed at 1500 GMT (1800 local time) following 11 hours of voting. Results are expected within the next 24 hours, according to the independent body that oversees Iraq’s election. But negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for weeks or even months.
Populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, center, arrives to a polling center to vote in the parliamentary elections in Najaf, Iraq, Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. Iraq closed its airspace and land border crossings on Sunday as voters headed to the polls to elect a parliament that many hope will deliver much needed reforms after decades of conflict and mismanagement. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/saddam-hussein-baghdad-middle-east-iraq-general-elections-eeb5bc90ddb28b9bbb6ef92cf5914672
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