The Iraqi parliament puts the final touches on the election law
Shafaq News / First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hassan Al-Kaabi confirmed on Saturday that the final touches are being out on the election law schedule.
Al-Kaabi said while heading the Presidency meeting with the leaders of the political blocs and the Parliamentary Legal Committee that we are working hard to accelerate the finalization of the electoral law schedule and present it on the parliament’s agenda.
He added that the electoral law legislation will contribute greatly to building a modern electoral process. Stressing the need to complete the law as soon as possible to be a new good –well gesture to the Iraqi people.
Since October, masses of young Iraqis have held protests through the country demanding jobs, better living conditions and end deep-seated corruption. Back then the popular protest movement has left at least 600 people dead, according to rights group Amnesty International.
The protests continued until mid-March, when Iraq imposed a lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, but thousands of protesters recently took to the streets again in the capital Baghdad as well as some central and southern provinces.
By December 2019, protesters had forced the government of Adel Abdul-Mahdi to resign. Two other presumptive premiers failed to build a successful government coalition to address the country’s many crises.
The Iraqi parliament had voted on some provisions of the new election law late last year under pressure from popular protests against the ruling political class, but the legislation of the law was not completed due to disputes over some of its articles.
The new law is supposed to make way for independents and small blocs by adopting a multi-circle system and winning the highest votes.
The new Iraqi government headed by Mustafa Al-Kadhimi decided in its first meeting to ask parliament to complete the legislation of the new election law in preparation for setting a date for early elections.
Observers believe that the new law, whatever the problems surrounding it, has become a prelude to changing the political equation in Iraq in a way that threatens the influence of the major powers that did not expect one day to revolt from the social and sectarian scene that they bet on.
