SULAIMANI (ESTA) — U.N. Envoy to Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said on Tuesday people must “feel free” to exercise their electoral rights, as Iraqis are to elect a new parliament next week.
The U.N. top representative said it was “essential” that the upcoming parliamentary elections in Iraq are different from the previous elections.
“People must feel free, at all times, to exercise their democratic and electoral rights,” Hennis-Plasschaert said in a press conference.
“Democracy is always a work in progress. It can be messy. It can be tedious. But if people feel included, if they feel they can slowly but surely help shape their own futures, then the compromises and investments are worth it,” she added.
Iraqi voters are to elect a new parliament next Sunday in the fifth such vote since a U.S.-led invasion toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
A total of 329 seats are up for grabs in the election, which was moved forward from 2022 as a concession to youth-led pro-democracy protests that erupted in late 2019.
There are fears voter turnout could drop below the 44.5 percent figure registered in 2018.
Meanwhile, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Iraq Ingibjorg Solrun Gisladottir said nearly 900 international and national experts and support staff were contributing to nationwide electoral efforts.
“The technical aspects of the electoral process are fully on track and our large U.N. electoral presence is fully deployed, covering technical assistance and monitoring as well as communications and outreach,” she added.
More than 25 million citizens are eligible to vote. They are supposed to present a biometric card for what was conceived as a fully electronic voting process.
However, some voters have not received the cards and authorities say provisions have been made to ensure they are not excluded.
More than 3,240 candidates are in the running, including 950 women.
One quarter of seats are reserved for female candidates, and nine for minorities including Christians and Yazidis.
A new single-member constituency system is supposed to boost independents and reduce traditional political blocs, largely centered on religious, ethnic and clan affiliations.
Two days before polling day, voting will be organized for security forces, displaced citizens and prisoners. This year nationals living abroad will not be voting.
