Basra

- Iraqis are waiting for the legislative elections next Sunday to choose their candidates for the next parliament, amid a competitive atmosphere between the candidates of the new parties and blocs that were formed after a popular movement that started in October 2019 to demand reforms.

The mood of the Iraqi street regarding participation in the elections is divided between supporters, boycotters, or hesitant.

3,249 candidates representing 21 alliances and 109 parties, along with independents, are competing to win 329 seats in parliament, according to figures from the Independent High Electoral Commission.

About 25 million people are entitled to vote in general, out of more than 40 million people, according to official figures.

Abdel Qader considered that participation in the elections will not change the current situation of the country (Al Jazeera Net)

The young man, Muhammad Abdul Qader, 30, says that participating in the elections will not change the current situation of the country, and the elections will be a copy of its predecessors and will bring the same faces and parties that have ruled the country since 2003, adding that he therefore decided to boycott the elections so as not to give legitimacy to the "corrupt parties." .

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Abdel Qader considered that participation in the elections does not represent a way to solve the crisis in the country, but rather "destroying the project of the October movement that opposes the entire political process in Iraq."

Abdul Qadir expressed his fear that independents who consider themselves part of the popular movement - if some of them win in the upcoming elections - will align themselves with the political parties that control the government and forget the goals of the movement.

Al-Darraji considered participation in the elections an attempt to save Iraq from its crises (Al-Jazeera Net)

crisis solution

Young Abbas Al-Daraji, 32, disagrees with Abdul Qader, considering that participation in the elections represents an attempt to save Iraq from its crises.

He added to Al Jazeera Net that "participation in the elections is an urgent necessity, especially after the fall of many victims in the popular protests during the past two years."

Al-Darraji continues that voting in the elections represents a seed of hope in order to bring about the desired change, adding that he hopes to find in the next parliament someone who works for the benefit of the people and the country and not for his own interests.

He expressed his regret that many young people boycotted the elections, attributing the reason for this to the political system in Iraq, which sowed despair among Iraqis.

Jumana Al-Ghalai: The commission distributed nearly 15 million electoral cards (Al-Jazeera Net)

wide turnout

In the context of the elections, the Independent High Electoral Commission extended the date for distributing biometric cards to voters throughout Iraq yesterday until ten o'clock at night, in an effort to ensure the delivery of the largest number of biometric electoral cards to citizens.

The biometric voter card distribution centers in Iraqi cities, including the city of Basra (in the south of the country), witnessed a large turnout of citizens until the last hours of the announced date, which contributes to raising the percentage of participation in the elections.

In a special statement to Al Jazeera Net, the spokesperson for the Independent High Electoral Commission, Jumana Al-Ghalay, said, "The total distribution of electoral cards has reached nearly 15 million cards, and the Commission has developed an urgent plan to expand the process of distributing cards to be at the level of the 8,273 polling centers instead of distribution." At the level of 1,097 registration centers.

In an interview with political analyst Ali Al-Baydar, he told Al-Jazeera Net that extending the period for receiving biometric cards will contribute to raising the overall voter turnout in all regions of the country, but it would have been better for the Independent High Electoral Commission to allow citizens to receive their cards until polling day as long as the cards were distributed from Polling stations, not registration centers for cards.

He continued, "In addition, UNHCR has mobile teams that visit residential areas, which will continue to distribute cards without interruption."

Al-Baydar suggested that the turnout for the legislative elections this time would be higher than the previous one (Al-Jazeera Net)

wide post

Al-Baydar believes that the participation rate in this year’s elections will be higher than in the 2018 elections, justifying that new candidates have entered the political process, for the first time, relying on their regional and clan audience, and therefore their participation will be wider, in addition to that, the popular movement revolution has stimulated awareness The Iraqi national, and the citizen became aware of the importance of his voice and the extent of its impact.

Al-Baydar added, however, that the parties presented their candidates again, and are working hard to preserve their political positions, and encourage their masses to go and vote. All these reasons and things indicate that the turnout for the elections will be high despite calls to boycott them.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission continues to issue identification identities to the estimated 900 international observers, accredit more than 46,000 local observers and about 207,000 political party agents, in addition to accrediting 305 international media professionals and 1,498 local media professionals.

Al-Silawi: The commission set a record in the number of cards it distributed, which indicates the desire of many to vote (Al-Jazeera Net)

The Director of the Elections Commission in Basra Governorate, Haider Muhammad al-Silawi, told Al Jazeera Net that extending the period for distributing biometric cards to citizens will certainly reflect on the percentage of participation in the elections at a good rate as a result of citizens' turnout to receive their cards.

He added that the commission set a record in the number of cards distributed the day before yesterday, Tuesday, reaching more than 15,000 cards, while only 1,500 and 2,000 cards were distributed daily during the past days.

Walid went in the last hour to receive his electoral card (Al Jazeera Net)

On the reason for his departure at the last hour to receive his electoral card, the young Hassan Walid (21 years) says that he decided hours before his departure only to elect a candidate that he sees as representing his aspirations and the aspirations of the youth of Iraq.

He added to Al Jazeera Net that he hopes that the independent candidates and the new faces that have aspirations and goals to save the country from its crises will win.