Baghdad, Nov 6 (IANS): Iraqi President Barham Salih has approved the new parliamentary elections law despite his reservations on some of its articles, but stressed the need to fulfil the requirements of holding early elections.
“In compliance with my constitutional duty, I approved the election law, in preparation for holding early, fair, and just elections,” Salih said in a televised speech after signing the law on Thursday.
He said that reforming the Iraqi election law aims to guarantee the right of Iraqis to elect their representatives by securing free and fair elections away from intimidation and fraud, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Electoral corruption is dangerous because it threatens societal peace and economic integrity, as the electoral corruption and financial corruption are interlinked, inseparable, and destructive,” Salih said.
He pointed out that the previous parliamentary elections after 2003 witnessed many challenges regarding fraud and suspicion, which were the main reason for the citizens’ reluctance to vote, and undermined their confidence in the legitimacy of the existing regime and the entire electoral process.
Salih stressed the need “to enable a new political generation to realize the desired reform project in response to the blood that has been shed on the road to reform and change”.
Salih also acknowledged the reservations that some politicians registered on the latest electoral law which was passed recently by parliament, saying: “This law does not represent everything we aspire to, but at the same time, it represents a development for the better and a path to reform.”
Earlier, the Iraqi parliament decided to set 83 electoral districts in the country, based on the women’s 25 per cent quota in the 329-seat parliament, while the previous election laws stated each of the country’s 18 provinces as a single electoral district.
Last year, parliament passed most of the elections draft, but differences remained on the number of electoral districts due to political row among the political blocs.
The new electoral law came in response to the anti-government protests and was designed to make it easier for independent politicians to win a seat in the upcoming parliament.
On July 31, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi set June 6, 2021, as the date for the early elections.
Originally the previous parliamentary elections were held on May 12, 2018, and the next elections were supposed to take place in 2022.
