Parliament votes today on the election law without agreement

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[size=52]Parliament votes today on the election law without agreement[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Today, Sunday, the House of Representatives begins voting on the draft election law supported by the coordination framework, amid the objection of civil forces and ambiguity in the position of the Sadrist movement. Shortly before the parliament session, which is supposed to take place before midday today, the “framework” is still insisting on “St. Lego” in its strict formula 1.9.[/size]
[size=45]There are hints that some of the independent deputies may agree to a “compromise” if the major parties decide to back down from some of the controversial points in the law.[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, protesters launched calls to mobilize against the law on the eve of its passage, provided that the escalation continues and specifically targets deputies who support the version of the Shiite coalition.[/size]
[size=45]The coordination framework is trying to hasten to settle the law after delaying and hesitating more than once for fear of a street coup against it and provocation of Muqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the Sadrist movement.[/size]
[size=45]The new version of the election law undermines the multi-constituency system that al-Sadr supported in the last elections, when he achieved 73 seats before they resigned last summer.[/size]
[size=45]A politician close to the “framework” says in an interview with (Al-Mada) that the Shiite alliance: “wants to achieve an achievement in parliament with the lack of legislation in this session, by passing the election law.”[/size]
[size=45]The politician, who asked not to be named, added that the coordination framework “knows very well that elections will not take place this year, whether local or legislative, for several reasons.”[/size]
[size=45]Regarding those reasons, he says: “In addition to the financial and technical arrangements of the Electoral Commission, which may need more time than the remaining 6 months of the supposed date for the provincial elections, there are other political aspects.”[/size]
[size=45]And he goes on to say, “Holding local elections will put the coordination framework in front of another demand, which is holding early elections, and it is not ready for that.” Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani had set next October as the date for the local elections, and had confirmed earlier that his government was ready to hold legislative elections, "but the decision is in the hands of the political forces."[/size]
[size=45]According to what the politician conveys from the discussions of the Shiite parties, any upcoming legislative elections require a greater voter mobilization, especially after the low percentage of participants in the 2021 elections.[/size]
[size=45]The “framework” at the time and some independent forces estimated the participation rate at about 20%, while the Commission had said that the percentage was more than 40%.[/size]
[size=45]And Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of the State of Law, previously admitted that “there is no need for legislative elections” in one of the interviews with a global station last month.[/size]
[size=45]And the informed politician explains: “Mobilization is important to legitimize the elections that the coordination framework will supervise, and it is also important for the latter to obtain better results than the last elections.”[/size]
[size=45]The Shiite alliance had lost about 50 seats as a result of its results in the 2018 elections, while the Sadrist movement achieved the highest results since the 2005 elections.[/size]
[size=45]chest position[/size]
[size=45]Until now, al-Sadr's exact position on the upcoming elections is not known, as he has remained silent on political statements since his retirement last June.[/size]
[size=45]Leaders and close associates of al-Sadr revealed in brief statements to (Al-Mada) what is going on inside the movement on the issue of the elections, which they confirmed more than once that the leader of the movement “rejects St. Lego” or “changing the election commission, which is composed of judges.”[/size]
[size=45]They confirm that al-Sadr “does not communicate with the Shiite coalition or any other party,” and they have previously denied the news of reconciliation between the latter and al-Maliki, which was promoted by the leader of the State of Law earlier.[/size]
[size=45]Will the Sadrist movement participate in the upcoming local elections? Al-Sadr's circles transmit information from behind the scenes indicating that Al-Sadr may agree to participate in the event that he wins the majority of votes in some provinces.[/size]
[size=45]And the motive of the leader of the Sadrist movement appears behind this, according to what those close to him say, “so that the movement does not become compelled to ally with any political party and restore the majority project, which it failed to achieve last year.”[/size]
[size=45]And these news remain among the leaks, as al-Sadr continues to remain politically silent, but what happened a week ago may indicate the existence of an undeclared move by the Sadrists towards the elections.[/size]
[size=45]A few days ago, Nassar al-Rubaie, a well-known Sadrist leader and former minister, decided to submit his resignation from the presidency of the al-Ahrar bloc, which is the name of the al-Sadr bloc that participated in the previous parliament.[/size]
[size=45]According to what Al-Sadr circles said, the resignation of Al-Rubaie, who is the head of the new Al-Sadr bloc that won the 2021 elections, is to end the duplication of leadership of two blocs, as the parties law does not allow one person to manage two parties.[/size]
[size=45]Observers interpreted this procedure as possibly referring to the Sadrists' preparations for the upcoming elections.[/size]
[size=45]The Sadrist movement had been a worrying obsession for the coordination framework in the past weeks during the discussion of the election law, especially with the news of Al-Sadr's supporters approaching the walls of the Green Zone, denouncing "St. Lego."[/size]
[size=45]Continuing disagreements[/size]
[size=45]This concern may be renewed today, Sunday, as Aref Al-Hamami, a member of the Legal Committee in Parliament, confirms that the latter “will vote today on the draft election law.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hamami says, "The differences are still going on, and they will all be put to a vote," noting that "the most prominent disagreement is the adoption of the St. Lego system or the multiple districts."[/size]
[size=45]The deputy indicated that “the coordination framework and the State Administration Coalition agree on version 1.9 of St. Lego, in exchange for a request from other representatives to reduce it to 1.6.”[/size]
[size=45]According to Al-Hamami, “dialogues and discussions will continue until before the session is held,” noting that “a change in attitudes and convictions may happen at any moment.”[/size]
[size=45]And leaks had circulated that some independents, especially those affiliated with the coordination framework, would accept the version of the law in exchange for 1.6 and ignore the rest of the observations.[/size]
[size=45]More than 50 independents have previously submitted proposals to the “framework” regarding a version of the law that requests amendments regarding the cancellation of foreign elections, and technical issues related to counting and sorting, but they did not receive answers.[/size]
[size=45]demands and protests[/size]
[size=45]Yesterday, the Forces for Change and Democracy, a group of civil and independent parties, considered expediting the passage of the new election law as confirmation of the “approach to exclusion and marginalization,” while raising 7 demands regarding the law.[/size]
[size=45]And those forces said in a statement that: “Passing the law so quickly and without taking into account the observations of the opposition forces to the system of government is considered a violation of the values ​​of democracy and political pluralism and an affirmation of the method of exclusion and marginalization that has long been practiced by the forces of power in the past years.”[/size]
[size=45]And she continued, “While we affirm our position rejecting the draft election law that the authorities are seeking to pass in haste, we call on all civil, emerging, democratic and national forces that believe in the project of democratic change, to unify their efforts, inside and outside the parliament, to ensure the realization of free, fair and fair elections.” ".[/size]
[size=45]The statement contained several demands:[/size]
[size=45]First: The necessity of not merging the two electoral laws (the House of Representatives and the provincial councils), because that would be a violation of the constitution.[/size]
[size=45]Second: Not raising the candidacy age from 28 to 30, because that marginalizes the role of youth, but rather lowering it to 25, in accordance with the party law.[/size]
[size=45]Third: Adopting electronic counting and sorting, specifying 5% to match manual counting and sorting, and promptly announcing results within 48 hours.[/size]
[size=45]Fourth: Determining a higher ceiling for electoral spending, and imposing compulsory leave on those with special degrees when running for office.[/size]
[size=45]Fifth: If the dominant powers are determined to endorse (St. Lego), then we stress the need for the original electoral system to be in St. Lego, without any raising of the division factor.[/size]
[size=45]Sixth: Emphasizing the implementation of the Iraqi Political Parties Law No. (36) of 2015.[/size]
[size=45]Seventh: The need to adopt the biometric card exclusively to participate in the elections, especially for newborns (2005-2006-2007).[/size]
[size=45]Durgham Majed, one of the most prominent activists opposing the new election law, said that the position of the opponents "has not changed, and there will be escalatory reactions against the law's legislation."[/size]
[size=45]Dergham added, in an interview yesterday with (Al-Mada), that "the protests will start on the eve of the parliament session," noting that the protests "target the deputies who will vote on the version of the law presented by the coordination framework."[/size]
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