Election Losers in Iraq Resort to Appeals

Protesters sit inside a tent during a protest against the election results, near the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, October 20, 2021. The banner reads, "Death to America". REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Protesters sit inside a tent during a protest against the election results, near the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, October 20, 2021. The banner reads, "Death to America". REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
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Election Losers in Iraq Resort to Appeals

Protesters sit inside a tent during a protest against the election results, near the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, October 20, 2021. The banner reads, "Death to America". REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
Protesters sit inside a tent during a protest against the election results, near the Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, October 20, 2021. The banner reads, "Death to America". REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

Efforts to calm down the situation in Iraq continued after protests against the results of recent elections turned into an open sit-in outside the Green Zone gates in Baghdad.

At the same time, forces that lost in the elections are betting on the results of the appeals submitted to the Elections Committee before they enter negotiations with other political parties.

On Wednesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi reaffirmed his country’s commitment to protecting the UN mission in Iraq and other diplomatic missions in the country from any threat.

Citing Iraq’s commitment to international laws and norms, he reaffirmed Baghdad’s support for the missions carrying out their tasks.

Kadhimi, during a high-level national security meeting, reiterated Iraq’s firm rejection of being used as a springboard for attacking any other country.

The premier acknowledged that peaceful demonstration “is a constitutional right, and it is the duty of the security forces to safeguard the public’s right to express its opinion.”

However, Kadhimi noted that protestors must not violate the law, restrict citizens, block roads and disrupt public life and order.

“The government has played a major role in holding the elections, and the security services succeeded in securing polling stations, candidates and voters, and the vote was held, for the first time, without a curfew, and without booby-traps, assassinations and terrorist acts,” said Kadhimi.

Also, he stressed that objecting to election results must be part of the applicable legal procedures, which are the natural and sound path.

He called on demonstrators to cooperate with security forces so that they could carry out their duties in maintaining both security and public order.

In the meantime, Hadi al-Amiri, head of the Fatah Alliance, urged the Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq to “seriously consider” all the appeals submitted to it in order to “reassure everyone and prove its full impartiality.”



Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
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Syria President Vows those Involved in Church Attack will Face Justice

The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP
The attack was the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December - AFP

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a "heinous" suicide attack on a Damascus church a day earlier would face justice, calling for unity in the country.

The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said, raising an earlier toll of 22 killed.

The authorities said the attacker was affiliated with the Islamic State group.

"We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilising all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and to bring them to justice," Sharaa said in a statement, AFP reported.

The attack "reminds us of the importance of solidarity and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation's security and stability", he added.

Condemnation has continued to pour in from the international community after the attack -- the first of its kind in the Syrian capital since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

It was also the first inside a church in Syria since the country's civil war erupted in 2011, according to a monitor, in a country where security remains one of the new authorities' greatest challenges.

Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged the government to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria's transition, particularly after sectarian violence in recent months.