American Institute: Minorities lost real representation in the Iraqi elections

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[size=52]American Institute: Minorities lost real representation in the Iraqi elections[/size]

[size=45]Translation: Hamed Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]An American institute reported that the Iraqi elections did not reflect the true representation of minorities, pointing out that the large parties seized their votes and seats in the House of Representatives, while warning against this continuing as it contributes to increasing their immigration rates abroad.[/size]
[size=45]A report by the United States Institute of Peace, translated by Al-Mada, stated that “political parties and blocs, five months after the Iraqi elections, are still in a dead end to form a new government.”[/size]
[size=45]The report added, "Achieving a more stable and more peaceful Iraq requires the full inclusion of ethnic and religious minorities."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The chances of achieving this thing are still unclear at a time when Iraq's minorities are looking forward with caution to this goal because their future depends on it."[/size]
[size=45]The report pointed out that "the inclusion of all minorities is a complex task for Iraq's democratic system, as the country includes a wide variety of ethnic and religious minorities. It includes, among other minorities, the Yazidi, Christian, Sabean Mandaean, Shabak, Turkmen and Kakai sects."[/size]
[size=45]He stressed, "Religious minorities with a long history in Iraq are witnessing a decline in their numbers, and many of them live in camps for the displaced and suffer from difficult economic and living conditions."[/size]
[size=45]The report stated, "Immigration waves had reduced the number of Iraqi Christians from approximately 1.5 million people before 2003 to approximately 250,000 thousand people or less."[/size]
[size=45]And he added, "Many Yazidis and Kakais have also left Iraq, and for this reason," and "enhancing the representation of minorities in the government is essential to solving these problems."[/size]
[size=45]The report continues, "The 2021 Iraq elections witnessed the misapplication of major parties to the new law, by controlling minority seats."[/size]
[size=45]And he spoke of "any voter being able to vote for a minority candidate, which is a legal provision that dilutes the ability of small sects to choose their representatives."[/size]
[size=45]The report stated, "The new electoral law formulated smaller electoral districts in each governorate, but this did not solve the problem."[/size]
[size=45]He stressed that "the areas rich in minorities participated with other groups to form electoral areas that give an advantage to the larger party that is not from the minorities, and thus larger political blocs win additional seats by reserving members of minorities and supporting them as candidates for them to occupy seats reserved for minorities."[/size]
[size=45]The report continued, "The winning candidates support the interests of their largest bloc and overlook the priorities of the needs of their local communities for better services or equal rights."[/size]
[size=45]He explained, "Four of the five seats allocated to Christians were won by the Babylon Movement, a Christian party affiliated with the crowd."[/size]
[size=45]According to the report, “notables from the Christian sect said that the Babylonian movement did not represent the members of the Christian sect,” and stated that “this is the opposite of what Christians, Shabak and Yazidis feared that the largest parties would seize their vote and vote.”[/size]
[size=45]And he continues, that "a research project conducted by the United States Institute of Peace revealed that electoral areas that contain religious minorities in Nineveh Governorate had a low level of confidence in the elections."[/size]
[size=45]The report added, "70% of the people of Hamdania from the Christian and Yazidi sect in the Sinjar region, and 53% of the people of the Tal Afar region, stated that their representation in the elections was non-existent or almost non-existent."[/size]
[size=45]And he quotes "other similar polls that expressed their lack of confidence that the elections will translate the people's aspirations towards positive change."[/size]
[size=45]The report continued, "Iraq, and its multiple sects and minorities, is struggling to recover from the consequences of the war against ISIS and build a governance and a more stable and more democratic country," and found that "the new government requires it to take a vital step to ensure reliable representation of minority groups in governance and government."[/size]
[size=45]The report warned, “Information from research conducted by the institute since 2018 shows that this task remained unfulfilled even after the 2021 elections.”[/size]
[size=45]He stated, "Ethnic minorities in Iraq feel vulnerable in an unstable atmosphere, with the features of their future not being clear."[/size]
[size=45]The report considers that “not addressing the needs of minorities, providing services to them, and guaranteeing their rights, this mixture of problems will lead to new waves of immigration at any time European and American countries open their doors to immigrants.”[/size]
[size=45]And he demanded, "Parliament, the federal government and representatives of local governments to listen to the opinions of minorities and meet their economic, security and social needs," calling for "amendments to be made in the electoral law."[/size]
[size=45]The report concluded, "The strengthening of the impulses of democracy in Iraq, which was reflected in the recent protest movement and the elections that followed it, is a vital gain."[/size]
[size=45]About the USIP Institute[/size]
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