A series of kidnappings and targeted assassinations that killed more than 35 people has further discouraged many from taking part. Iraq’s President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi urged Iraqis to vote in large numbers. The 2018 elections saw just 44% of eligible voters cast their ballots, a record low, and the results were widely contested. In a tea shop in Karradah, one of the few open, candidate Reem Abdulhadi walked in to ask whether people had cast their vote. In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, Iraq’s influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr cast his ballot, swarmed by local journalists.
