What are the chances of independents in the provincial council elections?

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[size=52]What are the chances of independents in the provincial council elections?[/size]

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10-21-2023
Independents fear that major political forces will seize provincial council seats, as a result of the reintroduction of the “Saint-Lego” electoral system in the provincial council elections (local governments), scheduled for next December 18.[/size]
[size=45]“39 coalitions with a group of parties are participating in the upcoming elections, as well as 29 parties and 66 individual candidates,” according to the head of the media team of the Election Commission, Dr. Imad Jamil Mohsen, explaining that “more than 80 percent of these individual candidates are candidates on the Quota seats distributed throughout Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the details of the quota seats, Mohsen explains during his speech: “In Nineveh there are 3 seats, one seat for each of (the Christians, the Shabaks, and the Yazidis), and in Baghdad there are 3 seats, one seat for each of (the Faili Kurds, the Christians, and the Sabian Mandaeans), and one seat for the Sabean Mandaeans in Maysan, and a similar seat for Christ in both Basra and Kirkuk, and one seat for the Faili Kurds in Wasit.”[/size]
[size=45]With an easier calculation, Mohsen explains: “That is, one seat each in Maysan, Basra, Kirkuk, and Wasit, two seats for the Faili Kurds, four for the Messiah, two seats for the Sabians, and one seat for each of the Shabaks and Yazidis.”[/size]
[size=45]Individual nomination is absent[/size]
[size=45]He explains, “Individual candidacy is almost absent from the scene in the provincial council elections, because most of the candidates, including independents, joined alliances and parties, due to the difficulty of a single candidate obtaining a seat in the elections, so most of them ran under alliances and parties.”[/size]
[size=45]The provincial council elections will be held according to the “Saint-Lego” method, which relies on dividing the coalition votes by the electoral divisor of 1.7, which makes the fortunes of large political entities rise at the expense of individual candidates (independent and civil), as well as emerging and small entities.[/size]
[size=45]“Saint Lego”[/size]
[size=45]In this context, the legal expert, Amir Al-Daami, says, “The Iraqi street and the supreme religious authority had forced the political blocs to achieve a law that meets the ambition, which is a law that depends on votes, but this law did not meet the ambition of the large parties, so they returned to the detailed Saint-Lego.” According to the standards of the large, authoritarian and influential parties.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Daami adds, “This law does not meet the ambitions of the Iraqi street and the emerging movements and small parties that are trying to enter the political process, because it will increase the influence of the large, influential parties, and there will be no real representation of the Iraqi street, given that this law is for those who have influence and power.” “.[/size]
[size=45]“Serves Independents”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, the former Deputy Chairman of the Election Commission, Saad Al-Rawi, confirms that “the election law serves independents and others, who know its details and implications and how to use it to their advantage as a party and candidates,” indicating that “what has changed in the law from the last elections is the method of distributing seats and demarcating districts. “This requires developing a detailed plan to use the law to their advantage.”[/size]
[size=45]During his speech, Al-Rawi stresses the importance of “working in the correct manner, mastering the electoral laws and systems, and learning about their approaches and techniques in order to top the electoral lists. Therefore, independents and small parties must form a bloc or coalition if there is fear of the large and influential parties.”[/size]
[size=45]It is worth noting that these local elections will be the first elections held in Iraq since April 2013. The elected provincial councils are responsible for selecting the governor and the governorate’s executive officials, and they have the powers of dismissal, appointment, and approval of the project plan according to the financial budget allocated to the governorate by the central government in Baghdad, in accordance with the constitution.[/size]
[size=45]According to data from the Iraqi Election Commission, more than 23 million citizens are entitled to cast their votes in the provincial council elections, including more than 10 million people who have updated their electoral records so far.[/size]
[size=45]The Commission confirmed that 296 political parties organized into 50 alliances will participate in the elections, and candidates are competing for 275 seats, the total number of provincial council seats in general, 75 of which have been allocated within a quota for women and 10 seats for ethnic and religious minorities.[/size]
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