Iraqis cast ballots on Sunday

Baghdad: Iraqis cast ballots on Sunday for a new parliament in a vote boycotted by many of the young activists who thronged the streets two years earlier calling for an end to corruption and mismanagement.

The vote had been scheduled for next year but was brought forward in response to the popular uprising in the capital of Baghdad and southern provinces in late 2019. Tens of thousands of people took part in the mass protests and were met by security forces firing live ammunition and tear gas. More than 600 people were killed and thousands injured within just a few months.

Although authorities gave in and called the early elections, the death toll and the heavy-handed crackdown prompted many young activists and demonstrators who took part in the protests to later call for a boycott of the polls.

A series of kidnappings and targeted assassinations that killed more than 35 people has further discouraged many from taking part. Apathy is widespread amid deep scepticism that the independent candidates stand a



chance against established parties and politicians, many of them backed by armed militias.

 “I voted because there needs to be change. I don't want these same faces and same parties to return,” said Amir Fadel, a 22-year-old car dealer, after casting his ballot in Baghdad's Karradah district.

A total of 3,449 candidates are vying for 329 seats in the parliamentary elections, which will be the sixth held since the fall of Saddam Hussein after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the sectarian-based power-sharing political system it produced.

 More than 250,000 security personnel across the country were tasked with protecting the vote. Soldiers, police and anti-terrorism forces fanned out and deployed outside polling stations, some of which were ringed by barbed wire. Voters were patted down and searched.

Iraq's President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi urged Iraqis to vote in large numbers