In partnership with the German Foundation Friedrich Ebert and Al-Bayan Center for Planning and Studies held the third symposium in a series of seminars discussing the early elections to be held next October.
The symposium hosted Deputy Yonadam Kanna, Chairman of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, Deputy Saib Khidir representative of Kota Yazidi, and Mrs. Shimiran Marukel, member of the political bureau of the Iraqi Communist Party, to speak on the theme “The participation of Iraqi components in the early elections.”
“The new electoral law has a lot of observations,” Yonadam Kanna said, referring to the existence of “those who are working to empty Iraq of Christians, but we hold our ground. At the fall of Saddam’s regime, there were more than a million Christians, and after these years of displacement, the number decreased dramatically, now affecting the chances of Christians voting in any election due to their presence in the diaspora, and the decision not to hold elections abroad”.
For his part, Deputy Saib Khidir considered that “the major political forces view minorities only as a complementary number through which they increase their seats and therefore strive to confiscate the seats of the minority Kota to the interests of these forces, and we do not rule out that they will seek to confiscate them in the early elections.”
Marukel spoke of the option of minorities in the electoral presence on national or Kota lists, noting that members of national parties who are components are committed to the decisions of their parties, referring to the Communist Party’s announcement to boycott the upcoming elections by stating that “a strong acquisition of the political landscape, widespread corruption, assassinations, abductions, intimidation, and poor living conditions do not provide an atmosphere conducive to free and fair elections.”
The symposium featured extensive interventions on options for participation, boycotting, and the placement of Iraqi components in the upcoming elections.
LINK: https://www.bayancenter.org/2021/07/7261
