Iraq observes electoral silence ahead of parliamentary polls

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraq observed electoral silence on Saturday, one day before the country votes in parliamentary elections.

During this 24-hour period, political parties and candidates are banned from electoral campaigning.

Sunday’s vote will see 3,249 candidates representing 21 coalitions and 109 parties vying for seats in the 329-member parliament.

According to the Iraqi election commission, 24 million Iraqis are eligible to cast their ballot in the weekend polls out of the country’s 40 million population. The vote will be supervised by around 1,800 foreign observers.

On Friday, Iraqi security forces, displaced Iraqis, and prisoners cast their votes in the parliamentary elections.

The polls were originally scheduled to be held in 2022, but political parties decided to hold early elections following mass protests that erupted in 2019 against deep-seated corruption and poor services.

The Sunday vote is the fifth in Iraq since 2003 when a US-led invasion overthrew the regime of former President Saddam Hussein.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara