Abdulaziz Aliawi Al-Issawi – Researcher
Introduction:
There was no mention of the date of holding a second early election by any of the political leaders in the days before the vote on Abdul Latif Rashid as President of the Republic, and the assignment of Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani to form the government that won confidence on the 27th of October 2022. This raised questions about the chances of the new government holding elections, the extent of the seriousness of the political forces in dealing with them, and the appropriate time for holding the elections if an agreement is reached.
It seems that the focus on searching for ways out of the political crisis that has engulfed the country for more than a year has made voting on the president of the republic and forming a new government a top priority. Talking about the elections and their date has declined, even if it is temporary, but this does not mean leaving this option permanently, especially in light of the conviction of most of the political spectrum of the need to go towards new elections. But after the formation of a strong government capable of controlling the pace of the political process, which suffered violent tremors in the months preceding the vote and the appointment.
With the ambiguity of positions on the date of the new elections. However, some statements by politicians have indicated that it will not take place before at least 18 months have passed: the earliest date is the spring of 2024, in which case Parliament will have served three years out of its four-year electoral cycle. This matter may open a door for discussion at the time by giving Parliament an opportunity to complete its session and postponing the elections until 2025, in which case the government will have a longer opportunity to accomplish.
Speculation about the elections abounded until the Sudanese government’s ministerial platform was revealed, which was announced on the day of the confidence-granting session, which indicated the government’s intention to hold elections in a year, after amending the electoral law in three months, in a clear indication that the elections will be one of the priorities that the government took it into account.
First: the first early elections
The October 10, 2021 elections are considered the first early elections in the record of the Iraqi electoral processes that followed 2003. They are also considered the most controversial elections in 19 years, and their outcomes almost destroyed the political process and caused unprecedented political strife, which reached dangerous levels.
The call for early elections began with the outbreak of the October 2019 protests, accompanied by calls to change the electoral commission and its laws. The previous commission was abolished, a commission of judges was formed, the transition in Iraq from the electoral system by proportional representation to multiple constituencies at the request of a group of protesters, and the formation of a new government headed by Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in May 2020, as it took a decision to hold early elections on June 6, 2021, before they were postponed; For technical reasons, until October 10, 2021.
The elections, before and on the day of the elections, were highly praised by most of the forces participating in them, and by local and international organizations that monitored polling day. However, a big surprise occurred after the announcement of the preliminary results, as the results were questioned and challenged by some political entities participating in the elections, and a political controversy ensued, some of whose effects are still present today.
At the political level, the election results caused a major political division after the Sadrist bloc went towards the option of forming a majority government within what was known as the “triple alliance” or “Inqaadh Watan” after understandings with the Sovereignty Alliance and the Kurdistan Democratic Party. However, this project did not succeed due to the inability of this coalition to achieve a two-thirds majority to pass the presidential candidate, and the dispute continued until the bloc withdrew from the Iraqi parliament in June 2022.
