‘We’re fed up with lies’: Iraqi voters lose faith in the same old faces running for office
Widespread corruption combined with failings in basic services such as water, electricity and transport have reinforced the public’s lack of trust in Iraq’s political leaders
Only a decade after their country’s first ever multi-party elections, disenchanted Iraqis say “the same old faces” with their vested interests have been running the show since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein.
“How long have Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Ayad Allawi, Nuri al-Maliki or Haider al-Abadi been in power? One minute as MPs, the next as ministers,” said Midan al-Hamadani, listing Iraq’s foreign minister, vice-president, former prime minister and current premier.
“The parties are always the same and the same people come back to power, whether we like it or not,” said the 40-year-old Baghdad resident.
Widespread corruption combined with failings in basic services such as water, electricity and transport have reinforced the public’s lack of faith in Iraq’s political leaders.
In a country with a long history of conflict and intercommunal violence, more than 24 million Iraqis are registered to elect 320 deputies from a field of around 7,000 candidates on May 12, with 71 seats reserved for the capital.
Baghdad has been inundated with election posters plastered on flat buildings and even trees.