UN to deploy election observers to Iraq

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said Saturday it will deploy international observers to ensure the success of the upcoming parliamentary elections slated for Oct.10.

"The UN mission will deploy international observers at polling stations and provide all kinds of support for the success of the parliamentary polls,” Jeanine Antoinette Plasschaert, the head of UNAMI, told a press conference in Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province.

Plasschaert called on citizens to cast their votes, promising them that their voices “will be heard.”

The Iraqi Electoral Commission previously said that more than 600 international observers will monitor the Oct. 10 polls.

On Friday, prominent Iraqi Shia politician Muqtada al-Sadr warned against external interference in the elections.

Figures from the Iraqi Electoral Commission in July showed that 3,249 candidates representing 21 coalitions and 109 parties, as well as independent candidates, will run for seats in the 329-member parliament.

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

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar