BAGHDAD: Iraqis are bracing for yet another election they fear will change little, with many seeing the pro-reform campaign banners for the Nov. 11 vote as empty gestures from elites who have delivered little since the 2003 US-led invasion.
Years of corruption, high unemployment, and poor public services have blighted daily life since then, even as democratic elections have become standard following decades of repressive dictatorship under Saddam Hussein.
Iraqis complain that many of their leaders are too engaged in rivalry for sectarian power to tackle Iraq’s problems — despite its vast oil wealth.
Despite the election billboards and banners trumpeting change, for much of the public, the election outcome feels predetermined, serving merely to keep Iraq’s political balance in the hands of the same sectarian elites.
Said Hatem, a Baghdad resident, voiced skepticism about the prospects for change.
“You see the advertisement on the streets ... but they have been ruling for 20–25 years. How do you make me trust you?” he said.
Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission has approved 7,768 candidates to run for parliament, including 2,248 women and 5,520 men. It said campaigning was authorized from Oct. 3 to Nov. 8.
The vote will test confidence in Iraq’s political system, which has failed to make good on pledges to improve basic services and fight graft in a country where Iraqis say vast oil revenues only benefit the political elite.
FASTFACT
The Independent High Electoral Commission has approved 7,768 candidates to run for Iraq’s parliament, including 2,248 women and 5,520 men.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and his party will be competing mostly against other dominant, Shiite factions.
Frustration has been heightened by a resurgence in political tension, including the killing of parliamentary candidate Safa Al-Mashhadani, who had leveled criticism at everything from state corruption to militias he said were trying to take over his hometown.
Tabark Tariq Al-Azzawi, a candidate for the Iraqi Progress Party, said she had received threats and increasingly feared for her safety.
“I hope this phase will pass without any further losses or assassinations, whether of candidates or ordinary citizens. I hope that security and safety will prevail always,” she said.
Reuters could not independently verify the motive or details of Al-Mashhadani’s killing.
Authorities have since stepped up protection measures for candidates, with arrests made and investigations continuing, according to Iraq’s main security spokesman Gen. Saad Maan.
Many Iraqis believe that real change through elections is nearly impossible because the same powerful political groups continue to dominate the state and its vast energy resources.
These parties are often backed by armed factions close to Iran who control key institutions, government contracts, and public funds.
Voters say this allows ruling alliances to orchestrate election outcomes in their favor, and only their supporters get through a patronage system — allegations these parties deny.
An Iraqi tribal leader, Sheikh Abdul Jaber Hamoud, criticized what he described as the tendency to improve government outreach and public services only during election cycles while most Iraqis were neglected at other times.
“I believe the political process is no longer a democratic one; rather, it has become a political process manipulated in favor of specific groups from 2003 to this day,” said political analyst Qais Al-Zubaidi.
“Citizens strive for change, but this change is extremely difficult to achieve in the presence of uncontrolled weapons.”
Back in 2003, US officials thought that toppling Saddam would set Iraq on a path to the freedom and prosperity enjoyed by all communities in the country.
Instead, a pro-Saddam insurgency emerged, followed by militants and a sectarian civil war that gave rise to the more extremist Daesh terrorists.
Few politicians have raised hopes of a better life, even years after the sectarian bloodshed subsided.
