Provincial council elections kicked off in Iraq on Saturday. Voters from the security agencies are taking part in the first phase of the elections, while the vote will be open to the general public on Monday.
Over 35 coalitions are running for council seats across 15 provinces, except the Kurdistan Region.
For the first time, the elections are being held amid a boycott by influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who had previously declared that he was quitting political life. He had also ordered his followers to boycott the vote.
The elections are being held amid a tense regional scene with Israel’s war on Gaza, which has left its mark in Iraq with armed factions launching attacks against American forces deployed in the country. The attacks have dropped in recent weeks.
The provincial elections were supposed to be held in 2019, but they were cancelled amid massive popular protests against the ruling authorities and rampant corruption in the country.
The elections are being held amid tight security measures. Motorcycles and large vehicles have been banned from the roads during certain hours.
Besides members of security agencies, prison inmates, hospital patients and refugees are voting in the first phase of the polls.
In the southern province of Basra, police tightened security around polling stations, while security forces have been on alert since Thursday evening.
Schools have been suspended for a week because a large number of the facilities have been turned into polling stations.
Among the political powers running in the elections are former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, a coalition led by ousted parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and another led by Qais al-Khazali and Hadi al-Ameri.
In televised remarks, Maliki said he was not seeking a third term in office if his coalition secures a victory in the polls.
Traditional parties are running in Kirkuk city. The competition will be mainly limited to the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Masoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by Bafel Talabani. The parties are also competing for some seats in the Nineveh province.
Civilian forces are also running in the elections. They are comprised of leftist and liberal groups, as well as movements formed after the October 2019 protests.
Around 16 million Iraqis are eligible to vote. A total of 7,766 voting stations have been set up across the country and 6,022 candidates are running. Eighty-seven international and 33,000 local observers will monitor the electoral process.
Among the boycotters is the coalition headed by former PM Iyad Allawi, who said he was skipping the polls to “stand in solidarity with the demands of the Iraqi people.”
