"The demonstrators have tried everything since this morning," reports Marie-Charlotte Roupie from Baghdad on Saturday, March 25. The opponents, gathered since the day before near the Iraqi Parliament, fear that the new electoral law examined by the assembly this Saturday will roll back the gains of the popular movements of 2019.
The protesters then won a redistribution of electoral districts into smaller districts, allowing smaller candidates to get votes. This electoral system inherited from the revolts had thus allowed the election to Parliament of several independent candidates.
With the new law, the authorities want to return to larger constituencies and a proportional voting system based on party lists, which should benefit the major Iraqi parties.
To make their voices heard, the protesters filed a motion with the Federal Court to prevent the vote from taking place tonight. They also wrote a public statement, threatening the authorities with violence if they were not heard.
The vote is scheduled for 20:30 p.m. local time, 18:30 p.m. Paris time.
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