Episode (1/8/2020) of the "Beyond the News" program, which asked about the challenges facing the announcement of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, the date of the early parliamentary elections, and to what extent was the timing of its announcement appropriate? What effects could this step have on the political and security scenes in the country?
Pending the completion of the reactions of the forces and the concerned authorities, the Electoral Commission, the Presidency of Parliament and the United Nations Mission in Iraq were quick to interact with Al-Kazemi's announcement that the sixth of June next year will be set as the date for early elections.
Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi called for an emergency session to discuss the move, and stressed the need for early elections.
The Electoral Commission also announced its readiness to conduct the electoral process on the date specified by Al-Kazemi, and called on Parliament to complete the legislation of its law.
For its part, the UN mission stressed that holding credible elections in Iraq could revitalize the political system and fulfill the aspirations of the people for better political representation.
As for the political blocs, some of them announced their approval of Al-Kazimi's announcement, provided that it called creating political, legal and security environments. It is a condition coinciding with the renewal by Abu Ali Al-Askari, the security adviser of the Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq, of his threat to the Prime Minister and his accusation of involvement in the assassination of Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, deputy head of the Popular Mobilization Front, and the commander of the Iranian Quds Force Qassem Soleimani, with a US strike earlier this year.
Issam al-Faili, a professor of political science at Al-Mustansiriya University, says that one of the most important reasons that prompted Al-Kazemi to announce a date for early elections is to interact with the demands of the popular protests that have been going on for months. It sends a message of contentment to the masses demanding this election.
For his part, Abdul-Jabbar Ahmad, a professor of political science at the University of Baghdad, considered that the date of the elections was supposed to be decided after a meeting that included the heads of government, parliament and the republic, not that Al-Kazemi should be unique to him, so as not to cause division.
He stated that some political blocs that do not wish Al-Kazemi to continue in his position will press for the early date of the elections, pointing at the same time to a number of challenges that must be overcome before the elections, including economic and security challenges, in addition to the challenge of facing the outbreak of the Corona virus.
And about the failure of some political blocs to express their opinion on the date of the early elections, the academic and political analyst Abdul Amir al-Aboudi said that these blocs delay declaring their position - in support or rejection - to consider which direction the wind will tilt.
Al-Aboudi added that the political scene is now dominated by the game of throwing the ball in the stadium of the other party, doubting the possibility of holding the elections on the date set by Al-Kazemi, and that the matter is nothing but to get rid of the burden of setting the date by Al-Kazemi.