Why Iraqi Lawmakers Want To Postpone The Elections
The Iraqi parliament failed to confirm a date for the country’s parliamentary and provincial elections after lawmakers from the National Alliance and Kurdish blocs withdrew from a session on January 18. Sunni MPs requested a secret ballot to postpone the election from the date submitted by the Council of Ministers, May 12, to the first […]Ihsan Noori writes for 1001 Iraqi Thoughts:
The Iraqi parliament failed to confirm a date for the country’s parliamentary and provincial elections after lawmakers from the National Alliance and Kurdish blocs withdrew from a session on January 18. Sunni MPs requested a secret ballot to postpone the election from the date submitted by the Council of Ministers, May 12, to the first of December this year. Shia and Kurdish MPs broke quorum, leaving only 123 MPs present, which is well below what is required to hold a vote.
Prime Minster Haider al-Abadi – who is riding high after leading the country to a victory over the Islamic State – wants the elections to be held in May. Badr organization leader Hadi al-Ameri, Dawa Chairman Nouri al-Maliki, and Kurdish parties Gorran and the Kurdistan Islamic Union made it clear that they oppose any delay to the elections. The United States also voiced its support for the Iraqi government’s plans to hold the elections on time, saying in a statement that postponing the elections “would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the constitution and damaging Iraq’s long-term democratic development.”
But Sunni lawmakers argue that the war-torn country is not ready to hold elections, citing destruction in Sunni cities and the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people as obstacles.
