• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • Essays
  • Reports and Analysis
Ahead of Iraqi Elections.. Al-Kadhimi Faces Pro-Iranian Militias

Ahead of Iraqi Elections.. Al-Kadhimi Faces Pro-Iranian Militias

12:37 PM - 28 June, 2021
Europe Monitor No. 1

Europe Monitor No. 9 in 2023

1:32 PM - 8 June, 2023
Interview with Emmanuel Dupuy on the French approach towards the MENA region

Interview with Emmanuel Dupuy on the French approach towards the MENA region

11:27 AM - 7 June, 2023
Germany’s new approach to an EU asylum policy

Germany’s new approach to an EU asylum policy

2:10 PM - 6 June, 2023
The Sultan has won – European thoughts on election night

Publications Highlights – June 1

1:51 PM - 5 June, 2023
Intrigue and Uncertainty: Assad’s Return to the Arab League and the Future of the Middle East

Intrigue and Uncertainty: Assad’s Return to the Arab League and the Future of the Middle East

12:33 PM - 5 June, 2023
The Kremlin and political Islam

The Kremlin and political Islam

2:00 PM - 3 June, 2023
France: Blasphemy and criticism of Islam under scrutiny

France: Blasphemy and criticism of Islam under scrutiny

2:08 PM - 2 June, 2023
The Sultan has won – European thoughts on election night

The Sultan has won – European thoughts on election night

1:43 PM - 1 June, 2023
Appeasement with Assad: Arab “realpolitik” and European doubts

Appeasement with Assad: Arab “realpolitik” and European doubts

10:11 AM - 29 May, 2023
Publications Highlights – May 3

Publications Highlights – May 3

10:16 PM - 28 May, 2023

Why Kilicdaroglu seemed to be the winner of the Turkish Presidential elections and ended up loosing against Erdogan?

2:01 PM - 28 May, 2023
The Hijacked Faith: How Political Islamists Betray the Core Values of Islam

The Hijacked Faith: How Political Islamists Betray the Core Values of Islam

1:42 PM - 28 May, 2023
12:28 AM - 10 June, 2023
  • fr Français
  • en English
  • de Deutsch
  • ar العربية
  • Login
MENA Reseach and Study Center
No Result
View All Result
MENA Reseach and Study Center
No Result
View All Result
MENA Reseach and Study Center
No Result
View All Result

Ahead of Iraqi Elections.. Al-Kadhimi Faces Pro-Iranian Militias

12:37 PM - 28 June, 2021
A A
Ahead of Iraqi Elections.. Al-Kadhimi Faces Pro-Iranian Militias
197
VIEWS

Intimidation and threats against Iraqi activists by pro-Iranian militias and some of its affiliated parties continue before the early parliamentary elections in October, while political parties fear electoral fraud, as armed factions control the country’s political and security situation.

Hasan Salman, the Director of Media and Mass Communication at the Independent High Electoral Commission, has expected that the number of candidates withdrawing from the electoral race would reach more than a hundred candidates.

“The commission has nothing to do with the withdrawal, whether the withdrawal was a personal decision or under pressure, and what is important for it is that the withdrawal request be in accordance with the controls,” he points out.

Intimidation and assassination

The Iraqi Electoral Commission had excluded 226 candidates from running in the early parliamentary elections scheduled for next October, for their inclusion in the procedures of the “Accountability and Justice Law.”

“The withdrawal of some entities from the Iraqi elections due to the security situation does not necessarily mean postponing them,” Hussein al-Hindawi, the Prime Minister’s Adviser for Electoral Affairs, says. “There is no information about threats against candidates,” he adds.

“The Iraqi state is not in control of the situation, and it will be very difficult to hold free elections in these circumstances,” Iraqi activists say. “The militias are stronger than the state itself, and that the old guard is in control, and the internationally monitored elections will only legitimize them,” activists consider.

It is noteworthy that Iraq passed a new election law in 2019, encouraging independent candidates, in a move aimed at encouraging pro-democracy youth to run for office, but few of them have done so far. Hisham al-Mouzani, an activist who co-founded a new political party, asserts that it was a series of deployments by supporters of competing militias in Baghdad this year that frightened his party from running in the elections.

“Continued intimidation and impunity, create an environment in which large parties and militia-linked groups will do well in the October elections,” analysts say.

According to UN data, at least 32 anti-establishment activists have been killed in operations by unknown armed groups since October 2019.

In the past few weeks, Iraq has witnessed attacks against candidates for the upcoming elections, the latest of which was an attack by unknown gunmen targeting candidate Ammar al-Rubaie in Karbala in the south of the country last Sunday, seriously injuring him.

Al-Kadhimi is moving..

The confrontation between the Popular Mobilization and Al-Kadhimi government is emerging before the elections, as the  PMF have been trying for two weeks to organize an official military parade in Baghdad, on the anniversary of its founding the Popular Mobilization. It aims to mobilize support for the Al-Fateh List, which will compete during the upcoming elections.

It is noteworthy that Iran has renewed confidence in Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr militia, to lead the Al-Fateh List, which brings together Shiite militias to compete in the general elections scheduled for October 10.

Media sources have confirmed that Al-Kadhimi directed to prevent the Popular Mobilization Forces from organizing a military parade in Baghdad for which twenty thousand members of PMF with medium weapons and tanks were prepared. This parade was meant to be held as anniversary of the establishment of PMF in the summer of 2014. While sources in PMF have announced that, the parade was postponed to the end of this month in order to have wider participation.

Yesterday, Wednesday, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Iraqi Prime Minister, gave orders to the leaders of the army and security services to double the efforts to provide a safe environment for citizens and candidates to go through the upcoming early parliamentary elections and, therefore, encourage the citizens to participate widely.

“There are those who are trying to create despair and frustration in the hearts of citizens for certain purposes, and the citizens have the right to demand their rights and our duty to provide them; we must confront the challenges facing our country with all our energy to overcome them and secure the needs of citizens,” says the Iraqi Prime Minister.

He has pledged to hold fair elections in a safe atmosphere far from the tyranny of arms.

The Iraqi Election Commission has reported earlier that 24 million people are entitled to vote in the general parliamentary elections scheduled for October 10. The Commission has also revealed that about 3,500 candidates belonging to 276 parties and 44 alliances will go through the elections to fill the 329 parliament seats.

Eliminating the Militias…

Furthermore, political sources have revealed to Arab media that the Iraqi Prime Minister is preparing for a round of meetings with various political leaders of the main blocs in the country. These meetings are to make an agreement that emphasizes the importance of preventing armed factions from interfering in the electoral process in any form; starting from the electoral campaign stage through the voting process until announcing the results, whatever their nature.

The document of this agreement also highlights the importance of activating the laws of the Electoral Commission that give it the right to criminalize sectarian and racist discourse in electoral campaigns and deport the candidate who is proven to have done so. The exploitation of public money and government influence in electoral campaigns would be criminalized as well.

The media sources have drawn attention that Al-Kadhimi’s move has the support of Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist movement, Ammar al-Hakim, head of the Wisdom Movement and head of the Victory Alliance and Haider al-Abadi, the former Prime Minister, alongside the United Nations mission support in Baghdad.

It is noteworthy that the civil blocs and forces, which has been formed from the womb of the popular demonstrations, are concerned about the candidacy of the blocs that have armed wings, such as AL-Sadiquon: a bloc affiliated with the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Badr: a bloc affiliated with Badr Organization, Sanad: a bloc affiliated with Jund al-Imam faction, Ataa: a bloc led by Faleh al-Fayyad, the head of the Popular Mobilization Authority. In addition to other formations and militias that have decided not to run in the elections, but they do not hide their support for specific blocs.

More than 80-armed factions from the Popular Mobilization are deployed in northern, western and central Iraq. For their benefits, offices, representations and camps are distributed in the south, central and Baghdad regions and they practice political, social, religious and economic activities.

In turn, some political parties have suggested putting off the elections and not holding them on time. These parties have attributed the reasons to the lack of stability in the security situation and the spread of armed manifestations in many cities of the country. On the other hand, the three presidencies in Iraq have confirmed that the elections will be held on the scheduled date next October.

In addition, Hazem Al-Khalidi, the head of the Follow-up and Implementation Committee for the Government Program, believes that there is a major imbalance in the government’s performance regarding the control of money and weapons.

“There are political parties, which own money and weapons will control and re-establish their presence in the House of Representatives, and that the next parliament will not change a lot from the current one if money and weapons remain under the control of the well-known political blocs,” Al-Khalidi stresses.

Observers believe that political conflicts will escalate further as long as the legislative elections scheduled for October 10 are coming closer. While calls are being made for the need for international monitoring of the electoral process to ensure its integrity and to express the voter’s desire rather than the aspirations of political blocs, especially those that have lost their audience.

The Iraqi Council of Ministers has announced its approval for the Independent High Electoral Commission to use the services of employees, students of universities and institutes, and graduates of preparatory studies to complete the Parliament elections. The General Secretariat of the Iraqi Council of Ministers has agreed on contracting procedures for printing ballot papers and forms for the upcoming Parliament elections as the General Secretariat has decided to grant an exceptional advance to a German company to print Ballot papers.

All publishing rights and copyrights reserved to MENA Research and Study Center.

Tags: IranIraq

Related Posts

Europe Monitor No. 1 in 2023
Podcast

Europe Monitor No. 8 in 2023

11:58 AM - 22 May, 2023
741
Three Tumors of the MENA: Ignorance, Poverty, and Division – 3/3
Mena

Three Tumors of the MENA: Ignorance, Poverty, and Division – 3/3

4:32 PM - 13 May, 2023
516
Islamist association in Hamburg goes to court
Europe

Islamist association in Hamburg goes to court

10:55 PM - 7 May, 2023
438
Former enemy becomes temporary friend: confusion in Israel
Mena

Former enemy becomes temporary friend: confusion in Israel

1:36 PM - 4 May, 2023
809
New friendships in the Gulf – Prospects for regional stability
Mena

New friendships in the Gulf – Prospects for regional stability

3:18 PM - 3 May, 2023
787
Religion and the secular state: The dilemma of the Muslim world – Part Two
Mena

Religion and the secular state: The dilemma of the Muslim world – Part Two

1:24 PM - 1 May, 2023
882
MENA Reseach and Study Center

2023 © by Target

MENA Research & Study Center

  • About Us
  • Advanced search
  • Podcast
  • Privacy Policy
  • Imprint

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Advanced search
  • Reports and Analysis
  • Essays
  • Regions
    • Mena
    • Europe
  • Topics
    • Politics
    • Politics Islam
    • Migration
    • Terrorism
    • Extremism
  • Podcast
    • Europe Monitor
    • Talks and Input
  • Videos
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • English
    • Arabic
    • French

2023 © by Target

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Pin It on Pinterest

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
error: Alert: Content selection is disabled!!
  • English
  • العربية
  • Français