Iraqi observers talk about a new maneuver that included the Independent High Electoral Commission during the last period, in conjunction with news of the formation of a hidden political alliance that brings together the President of the Republic, Barham Ahmed Saleh, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi and Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi in the upcoming elections, and this is what prompted the recent changes to be made.

According to these observers, the apparent meaning of these changes is to camouflage the street with the presence of serious reform steps to evaluate the performance of the commission in implementation of the demands of the protest squares that demanded its dissolution, and the introduction of a new commission that enjoys complete independence, but the inside of it implies the frankness of the phrase that the influential parties put more elements loyal to it and tighten their grip on The results of the upcoming elections scheduled to take place next June or postponed to next October, as the commission demands.

Al-Hindawi attributed the changes to the new law of the Election Commission, which was enacted after the protests (Al-Jazeera)

Criticized and invited

The recent changes within the commission included about 400 job titles from the middle management, which includes managing offices made up of directors of divisions and departments without extending to the four general directors in charge of public administration by a diwani order from the prime minister, while Dr. Hussein al-Hindawi, the advisor to the prime minister for election affairs, refers these changes. To the new law of the Electoral Commission, which was enacted in 2019 by Parliament after the protests, as it stipulates in Article 25 of it to deport all former directors while changing some positions regarding jobs by moving some department heads and people to lower positions.

Scathing criticisms were directed at these changes, and that they caused weakness in the technical side of the employees, but Al-Hindawi denies that these changes were based on any political influence or conspiracy weaved against the commission, calling in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, the House of Representatives to amend the law of the Commission, especially Article 25 to clear The opportunity for her to benefit from previous and excellent experiences.

Among the strict conditions imposed by the Commission for the appointment of managers, whether for departments or divisions, is that the nominated person should not have any previous punishment during his service in the job, and a prominent official in it - requesting anonymity - described this procedure as "the most difficult" because it is impossible for the record of any employee who served in State departments and institutions for many years of administrative sanctions are rare.

The official in the commission denies that the recent changes are limited to certain governorates or regions without others, and confirms in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net that there is no preference in the changes to one region at the expense of another, as the procedure included all governorates, and officials of old departments returned to their positions after the completion of their mandate in the commission.

And whether the recent changes will negatively affect the results of the upcoming elections, and how valid is the intervention of the parties in force in them, the official assures Al-Jazeera Net that they will not affect the elections, as they included administrative positions and not technical or operational, and he absolved his institution of submitting to political and party pressures.

A UNHCR official said that the changes will not affect the elections (communication sites)

Two options before Al-Kazemi

The recent changes coincided with the Iraqi government's endeavor, with insistence, for the success of the upcoming elections, as it is the only hope left for Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi after his failure at various levels, especially with regard to security, including his failure to reveal the killers of the demonstrators, in addition to the economic aspects and playing with dollars in the market and crises That followed.

Yusef al-Khafaji, an activist in the protest squares, accuses Al-Kazemi of agreeing with a well-known, influential and powerful party that has a military wing on the ground to make the elections succeed, whatever the cost, by relying on the recent changes, believing that they have a popular base that can be relied upon in the next stage to win victory.

After its merger with Al-Kazemi, the activist says, this party began a wide and rapid move within the Electoral Commission to create the appropriate conditions through the recent changes to plant some of its close associates to ensure its victory in a manner commensurate with the volume of publicity and advertising it launched a short time ago.

He adds in his response to a question by Al-Jazeera Net about why the name of the intended party is not explicitly mentioned, far from the hint, by saying, "It is difficult for an activist like me and like the rest of the Iraqi people to mention the names of such parties because they have wide political and military influence for fear of retaliation against him, similar to what happened to some activists." Those who were assassinated for criticizing some of the political parties in Iraq. "

Al-Khafaji believes that Al-Kazemi has two options, not a third, to curb Iran in Iraq. The first of them is confined to the Shiite authority in the city of Najaf, and the second is to approach one of the influential parties which is in conflict with Iran and does not obey its command as much as the rest of the armed Shiite factions, and this is what Want it.

And what the civil activist considers the "most dangerous" for Iraq from the political danger is that the problems there have become societal, especially with regard to targeting the Shiite religious authority and weakening it with clear plans after its existence for decades in calming the situation and its role in fighting the Islamic State and other aspects, and this is what annoys some Regional countries do not serve their interests in Iraq, whether on the military, religious or social level.

Al-Baidar believes that among the disadvantages of the commission is that it does not bear any sign of independence except for the name (Al-Jazeera)

New gambit

Among the negatives that were recorded against the commission is that it does not bear any sign of independence except for the name, and this is what prompted the protest squares to demand its dismissal and bring in another that enjoys greater independence, and thus it is the product of political and partisan quotas, according to political analyst Ali Al-Baidar.

Al-Baidar says that all the offices of the commission in the governorates are subject to political sharing, in addition to the fact that its officials are implementing the agendas of the party that forced them into their positions, and he describes the recent changes that have taken place on sensitive sites within the Elections Commission as part of a political maneuver, whose aim is to camouflage and inform the street that there is Reform steps in order to evaluate the work of the commission, but at the core of it is the desire of political parties to introduce elements more loyal to them than their predecessors.

He added that many political currents did not win parliamentary seats, even relatively, because they did not have UNHCR employees, unlike influential parties that sweep Parliament in every election cycle because they have high-level employees.

Al-Baidar accuses the political blocs that owns a large number of seats in Parliament of standing behind the recent changes in the commission, stipulating in his speech to Al-Jazeera Net that the commission is subject to international intervention to restore the confidence of the Iraqi street in it after it lost the control of political parties in it and deviated from its course on more than one occasion.

Al-Baidar proposes the formation of a new independent commission under the supervision of the United Nations and paves the way for all Iraqis to apply for it according to high standards, and with these steps the highest institution that supervises the elections in the country can be immunized from political pressures and interference.

Abbas called for waiting until elections are held and the results announced to see whether the commission was independent or not (Al-Jazeera)

An early time to judge

In turn, a member of the Iraqi parliament from the Al-Fateh Alliance, Qusay Abbas, does not deny that the recent changes within the commission are free of partisan and political interference, as is the case with other institutions, attributing the reason to the nature of the political system in Iraq based on the parliamentary system.

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Abbas believes that it is still too early to judge whether the commission is independent or not, after the recent changes that came in accordance with the amendment of the law from Parliament, calling for waiting until elections are held and the results announced, and then it can be said whether it is independent or not.