Parties intrude into government projects and exploit the crisis with Kurdistan for electoral promoti

POSTED ON[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] BY [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]Parties intrude into government projects and exploit the crisis with Kurdistan for electoral promotion[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]There are 90 days left until the local elections are held, at a time when the participating parties have begun to move in an atmosphere of non-public propaganda. Prime Minister Mohamed Al-Sudani is expected to confront these propaganda “without hesitation”, especially since the latter is out of the electoral competition. Early propaganda images took place in using government projects as part of electoral promotion, and exploiting the crisis with Kurdistan.[/size]
[size=45]Meanwhile, the Election Commission withheld the number “56” in the draw of list and candidate numbers for the second time.[/size]
[size=45]The head of the Electoral Administration at the Commission, Abbas Al-Fatlawi, said during the drawing of list numbers that: “There is an increase in the number of alliances, parties, and candidates compared to previous elections.”[/size]
[size=45]According to the latest statistics, the number of electoral lists reached 134 lists, including 39 coalitions, 29 parties (outside the coalitions), and 66 individuals, representing more than 6,000 candidates.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Fatlawi considered that the increase in the number of candidates and lists would lead to: “increasing the participation rate in the elections.”[/size]
[size=45]During the lottery, the Commission noted the deletion of the number 56 due to its sensitivity in Iraqi society.[/size]
[size=45]Parties preparing to participate in the elections had previously called on the Commission to cancel the number “56” from the infiltration of lists and candidates, as happened in the recent 2021 legislative elections.[/size]
[size=45]The sensitivity of the number comes due to its connection to Legal Article 456 in the Penal Code Concerning Fraud and Fraud Crimes No. 111 of 1969, which is called “56” for short.[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqis used the last article to describe people accused of fraud, and then withdrew it to criticize the political class.[/size]
[size=45]Jumana Al-Ghalai, spokeswoman for the Election Commission, said earlier that the Iraqi parties requested that the number 56 be deleted from the sequence of names of candidates, and a decision must be issued in this regard by the Board of Commissioners.[/size]
[size=45]According to the Penal Code, Article 456 punishes anyone who deceives, defrauds, and lies to citizens, and whose action leads to a material or moral benefit to him or her.[/size]
[size=45]According to a government statement last June, the provincial council elections are supposed to be held on December 18. Accordingly, the competing parties began to use all available cards to win the electoral promotion game, such as leasing government projects.[/size]
[size=45]Muthanna Al-Samarrai, MP and head of the Azm Alliance, which participates in the local elections, gathered a few days ago the district directors in Samarra to announce “the launch of important projects” in the city.[/size]
[size=45]He said in the meeting, which was attended by service and security officials in Salah al-Din, that he is “following the entire Samarra file and personally reviewing” the projects.[/size]
[size=45]He added, giving good news to the people of the city, according to a statement from his office: “We are trying to make a greater effort to launch projects that we did not announce in the media until the start date, and they are many and important as an essential part of the infrastructure.”[/size]
[size=45]The State of Law coalition, led by Nouri al-Maliki, one of the contenders in the upcoming elections, did the same, as the bloc met with Governor Asaad al-Eidani and the police chief in the city.[/size]
[size=45]She said in a statement that the bloc, headed by Yasser al-Maliki, arrived in Basra Governorate: “to discuss the reality of services in the governorate.” Electoral propaganda may expand using more complex files, such as raising the issue of preventing the Kurdistan Democratic Party from returning to its headquarters in the disputed areas, despite the existence of a political agreement on that.[/size]
[size=45]Wasfi Al-Asi, the MP for Kirkuk, had led the protests to ban the “Democrat Party” in the city, while his colleagues in Parliament said that Al-Asi had previously agreed to return the party to Kirkuk and other cities.[/size]
[size=45]A few days ago, Prime Minister Muhammad al-Sudani accused the political forces of moving their tools “under the table” during the recent crisis in Kirkuk.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Sudani told a group of journalists that the crisis was triggered “after they (meaning the political forces) signed the political agreement to hand over the headquarters of the Democratic Party in Diyala, Nineveh, and Kirkuk.”[/size]
[size=45]Observers also believe that adding fuel to the fire in the issue of Kurdistan employees’ salaries falls within electoral promotion.[/size]
[size=45]Representative Mustafa Sanad, who is preparing to enter the elections within lists close to the coordination framework, announced that he would file an appeal before the courts against any government decision to pay advances to Kurdistan.[/size]
[size=45]It is assumed that the Council of Ministers, in Sunday’s session (yesterday), will give its final opinion on a proposal submitted by the regional government regarding the issue of salaries.[/size]
[size=45]In turn, Muhammad Nanaa, an observer and researcher in political affairs, points out in an interview with (Al-Mada) the difficulty of “preventing parties from using the state’s capabilities in electoral promotion.”[/size]
[size=45]Nanaa believes that the Prime Minister must “confront the use of these files without hesitation because he announced that he will not run in the local elections.”[/size]
[size=45]In the same context, the Integrity Commission had announced the launch of the campaign “Where did you get this from?” Which she said was targeting candidates for the provincial council elections.[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]