On 10 October this year, Iraq is expecting the fifth election in its democratic history, perhaps the most controversial since the 2018 elections, which was accompanied by many problems and with less than 44% participation (advertised). This ratio may be acceptable under a newly-established democratic system, a democratic experience surrounded by terrorist pressure, and rival political situations between long-standing opposition parties that have been divided into movements, blocs, and alliances whose permanent goal is to divide power without trying to correct the course of the democratic process in which they are involved.
Major demonstrations took place in central and southern Iraq in October 2019, calling for numerous unspecified demands, including the overthrow of the current regime, the resignation of former Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the change of members of parliament, the overthrow of political parties, and the elimination of external influence within Iraq; The demands of those demonstrations to change Iraq’s electoral law from considering a single governorate as a single constituency to dividing the constituencies into 83 in all of Iraq, which is the number of women`s Quota seats from the total 329 seats.
The Permanent Constitution of Iraq 2005, which established 25% of seats in the Iraqi Parliament in favor of women, as well as the establishment of “early elections” in October of 2021. The new Electoral Law was accompanied by waves of optimism from Iraqi activists, politicians, and public defenders, believes that the new Electoral Law will provide the possibility for candidates who have a community influence in their small constituencies to win; This allows the voter to choose the candidate he or she knows and trusts his or her ability to influence positively for the benefit of his or her regions.
With the legislation of the new Electoral Law, it is noted that (depending on the level of influence reached by political parties, their supporters, and members) Indirectly, it will contribute to bringing people who are believed to have the greatest power to control their constituents because of the decline in potential voters and easier access to them, particularly affecting women candidates who are believed to have a long way to go from political party control or to succeed in making a positive impact through the parliament seat and individually.
