The Iraqi movement holds a conference to coordinate participation in the elections

[size=52]The Iraqi movement holds a conference to coordinate participation in the elections[/size]

With the participation of parties and movements that emerged from the October 2019 protests
Wednesday - 21 April 2021 -

Baghdad: Fadel Al-Nashmi
[size=45]A wide range of movements and parties emanating from the protest movement that began in October 2019 and lasted for more than a year is preparing to hold a coordination conference attended by representatives of these groups with the aim of discussing participation in the general parliamentary elections scheduled for next October. The coordinators for the work of the conference, which is to be attended by 13 parties and gathered in it, talk about coordinating positions and coming up with a form of a declared agreement on what must be done in the next stage, especially since the movement's groups do not have extensive experience and experience, and they are preparing to enter the electoral experience, in exchange for experienced and competitive parties and political blocs. It has large sums of money and wide centers of influence in the Iraqi government and state.
Activists are clearly cautious about the issue of an explicit announcement of the location and time of the conference, given their fear that it will be targeted by some groups and factions opposed to the movement. The activist in Najaf Governorate, Abu Zain al-Abidin al-Hasnawi, expects the conference to be held within very close days, but he did not specify the place and time of its holding. Al-Hasnawi told Asharq Al-Awsat: "Perhaps the conference will take place in the provinces of Najaf or Babel, but I cannot give a date for its holding due to security conditions that have become known, perhaps to many, but it will be held in the near future, far from the eyes of the stalkers."
He added, "Thirteen parties and movements will participate in the conference, and within them, to mention but not limited to, movements (extension, the Union of Labor and Rights, Nazil who takes my right, the national home, the national extension)".
Regarding the nature of the preparations related to the upcoming electoral campaigns and their financing operations, he says: "It is clear that the Hirak groups do not have the necessary funds, but they will make exceptional efforts through the media and social media to promote their goals and electoral campaigns."
Most of those polled by "Asharq Al-Awsat" agree on their views on the participation of the movement's groups in the scheduled conference and the upcoming elections, on the necessity of "the movement's cohesion and lack of dispersion, and to expose the parties that invest in the protests and are their opponents." In this regard, the activist in Dhi Qar Governorate, Abbas Al-Saadawi, says: "There are parties close to the parties and the government that seek to ride the wave and present themselves as representatives of the movement, and this is what we do not allow. We will not cooperate with them or invite them to attend the conference." Al-Saadawi admits that "the conference is surrounded by strict procedures." He says, "We fear that the participating youth will be targeted. It will take place soon, and its meetings may last for two or three days." It is expected that "the conference will focus on discussing three main issues, namely, restoring the momentum of protests, boycotting or participating in the elections, all of which depend on the nature of the discussions that will take place, but participation is likely to be a likely option among the three."
Ammar Al-Nuaimi, a member of the "Nazil I Take My Right" movement, agrees on "the importance of the movement's groups agreeing and not dispersing them and coordinating their positions through a conference in which the actual movements and trends that participated in the protests participate." "Our movement has completed all registration requirements to participate in the upcoming elections. We require candidates not to nominate them previously with any political party, and we have recruited figures with a good reputation in Baghdad and other governorates to participate in the elections," Al-Nuaimi said. He added, "Not all the movements emanating from the movement will participate in the elections, but they will coordinate their positions to support the participants. We think that we will go through the electoral experience in many governorates. The matter is not as easy as expected, but we are determined to run the experience and we look forward to supporting large sectors that are resentful of the parties and political blocs of the authority."
On an issue related to the victims of the protests, a professor and a writer residing in Europe called on the French judiciary to "adopt" the call made by some of the families of those killed during the protests against former Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi (who holds French citizenship), who held him responsible for that in the capacity of the first executive official. At that time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and they said in a letter: “We adopt the complaint of those families submitted to the French judiciary and in accordance with what is bound by articles of international law, criminal law, treaties and agreements in cases of crimes against humanity, such as those that have been submitted to the judiciary, which established a legal rule condemning the ideological approach of superiority and behavior Some governments have it, as did Mr. Abdul Mahdi’s government. ”
The signatories of the letter added, "We hope and trust the European-French judiciary, the integrity of its procedures, and its role in prosecution and in preventing impunity for criminals and redress for victims."
Among the signatories to the request are Drs Kazem Habib, Faleh Mahdi, Sadiq Ataimish, and Tayseer Abdul-Jabbar Al-Alusi.[/size]
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