Although security has improved in recent years, elections threaten new volatility in a nation still terrorised by militant attacks and where major political factions are heavily armed. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, who only took office in May 2020, moved forward the scheduled 2022 polls as a concession to the unprecedented, youth-led protest movement that erupted two years ago. IS had captured a third of Iraq before losing its self-declared caliphate across Iraq and Syria in late 2017. The Hashed have been integrated into the Iraqi state security apparatus, and many of their figures were elected as lawmakers in 2018 polls. Above the lawMany parties and activists close to the October 2019 protest movement are boycotting the elections, denouncing the anti-democratic climate and the proliferation of weapons.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 03, 2021 07:41 UTC