An Iraqi man walks past an electoral campaign poster on October 6, 2021 in the southern city of Basra. AFP
Frankly, since that date, the Iraqi citizen looks at the elections with a sceptical eye, with the increasing promises of the parties which makes us expect, as usual, a weak turnout. Its causes are not far from what was expressed by the widespread demonstrations in the past two years, not to mention the deteriorating economic and social conditions, the collapse of the services system and the weakness of facilities.
Let us be frank with ourselves as Iraqis, first that minds have not changed and therefore policies have not changed, but the desire to retain positions is increasing without real achievement for the benefit of the people.
Many parties aim to obtain the majority of seats for the purpose of winning the position of prime minister and forming a coalition government, and among these entities that talk about the big victory is the Al-Sairoon headed by Muqtada al-Sadr, and there are other blocs on the lookout for him such as State of Law Nuri al-Maliki, and the Fatah bloc. Hadi Al-Amiri, the National Contract coalition led by Faleh Al-Fayyad, and the Wisdom Movement led by Ammar Al-Hakim.
The most fortunate, according to the polls, is the Sairoon bloc, but sometimes the winds do not like the ships. For these Shiite blocs, the position of prime minister is theirs, and the Sunni parties have many alliances, including The Nation’s Advancement led by the current parliament speaker, Muhammad Halbusi, and the Iraq Azm alliance led by Khamis al-Khanjar, and the National Rescue Project coalition, represented by the Sunnis of the city of Mosul.
Thus, we find strong competition between Halbousi and Khanjar, both of whom aspire to the position of speaker of parliament.
In Kurdistan, there are many coalitions and participating parties, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the Kurdistan Alliance between the Patriotic Union and the Change Movement, the New Movement, in addition to Islamic parties, some of which have agreements with the Kurdistan Alliance.
But in Kurdistan, the Democratic Party led by leader Massoud Barzani will have the best chance of winning the majority of Kurdistan seats, as it won the previous elections the majority of seats in Iraq, and is trying to increase its seats this time, as it participates with candidates in the city of Kirkuk, as well as Salah al-Din, Baghdad, Karbala and Diyala.
The party began an intense electoral campaign to win the votes of the electorate, and it enjoys a Kurdish majority in addition to its position at the Iraqi, regional and global levels. Its leadership enjoys the appreciation of all, with its government’s ability to create fraternal and peaceful coexistence between the various national and religious components, and its role in building diplomatic relations between Kurdistan and the world and confronting ISIS' terrorism. Not to mention Masrour Barzani's ability to make a tangible change in the provision of services, infrastructure development, administrative reform and the elimination of corruption in the region.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party does not have any electoral alliances now, but it adheres to the conditions for the success of the process itself and its ability to bring about real change in Iraq, so it prepares for an alliance after the elections with the forces that adhere only to the constitution when the government is formed, and believe in harmony and coexistence for a developed Iraq that transcends its crises and rises above national or orthodox strife. Ethnic or sectarian.
The Tishreen Movement was a declared popular rebellion against the absence of certain forces of the constitution and their ignoring the demands of the angry masses over the reality of overcoming the legacy of the Baathist regime.
Talking about corruption and tyranny is no longer a luxury on people's lips, but rather a tangible reality covered by bombings here and terrorist operations there, and between them sectarian strife, or political relations between Baghdad and Erbil, despite the ease of solving that old equation.
Let the slogan of the Iraqis with all their strength before and after the upcoming 10 October elections be The Constitution First, and let its applications be in administrative and political reform and a just system of income and services.
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