Iraq Voting for the New Parliament Continues amid Tight Security

On Sunday, Iraq closed its airspace and land border crossings as voters headed to the polls to elect a parliament that many hope will deliver much needed reforms after decades of conflict and mismanagement.

According to the Bloomberg news, the vote was scheduled to be held next year but was brought forward in response to a popular uprising in the capital Baghdad and southern provinces in late 2019. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest endemic corruption, poor services and rising unemployment. They were met with deadly force by security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas. More than 600 people were killed and thousands injured within just a few months.

Although authorities gave in and called the early elections, the death toll and the heavy-handed crackdown prompted many young activists and demonstrators who took part in the protests to later call for a boycott of the polls.

A series of kidnappings and targeted assassinations that killed more than 35 people has further discouraged many from taking part.

A total of 3,449 candidates are vying for 329 seats in the parliamentary elections, which will be the sixth held since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

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