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By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and STELLA MARTANY, Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqis headed to the polls on Tuesday to vote in a parliamentary election marked by tight security and a boycott by a major political bloc. A total of 8,703 polling stations were open across the country for the general election. Members of the security forces and displaced people living in camps cast their ballots in early voting on Sunday. Turnout was sparse in the early hours Tuesday at polling stations visited by Associated Press journalists. Initial results were expected on Wednesday. Only 21.4 million out of a total of 32 million eligible voters updated their information and obtained voter cards ahead of the polling, a decrease from the last parliamentary election in 2021, when about 24 million voters registered. The election is taking place against the backdrop of major shifts in the region over the past two years — including the wars in Gaza and Lebanon after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, the Israel-Iran war in June, and the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad last December. These developments come as U.S. pressure intensifies on the Iraqi government to curb the influence of Iran-aligned armed factions, some of which have candidates participating in Tuesday’s vote. Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, who is running for a second term, arrived at a polling station in Baghdad to cast his vote, along with his mother. The election “asserts the principle of peaceful transfer of power” and “the people’s commitment to this democratic practice,” Sudani said. Boycott by a major bloc The popular Sadrist Movement, led by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, boycotted the polls. Al-Sadr’s bloc won the largest number of seats in the 2021 election but later withdrew after failed negotiations over forming a government, amid a standoff with rival Shiite parties. He has since boycotted the political system. At the entrance to Sadr City — a sprawling stronghold of the Sadrist movement on the outskirts of Baghdad — security was noticeably tighter than in other parts of the Iraqi capital. Iraqi special forces and federal police were deployed across the area, with armored vehicles and Humvees stationed along the main roads, manned by heavily armed soldiers. A large banner showed al-Sadr wearing military fatigues and holding a weapon, with the words, “My people in Sadr City are boycotting.” On a main Sadr City street, all shops were shuttered, and posters of slain Sadr loyalists lined the walls. Polling station were open but were almost completely empty. At one, which serves 3,300 voters, station director Ahmed al-Mousawi said a few hours into the balloting that fewer than 60 people had voted. “The Sadrist boycott has had a major impact,” he said. “In previous elections, there used to be long lines from the early morning hours, but today the difference is dramatic.” Sabih Dakhel, a 54-year-old voter who came with his wife, said they had decided to vote in hopes that new elected officials might improve living conditions for people like them. “We were able to vote freely today, but the Sadrist boycott has deeply affected participation,” Dakhel said. “Sadr City feels almost like a lockdown because of Muqtada al-Sadr’s call for his followers to stay home.” Tensions and apathy in Kirkuk In the northern city of Kirkuk, violence broke out overnight ahead of the election, killing two police officers. The city, with a mixed population of Sunnis, Shia, Kurds and Turkmen, has been the scene of a territorial dispute for years between the central government and regional authorities in the semiautonomous northern Kurdish region. It was the site of violent protests in 2023. A statement from Iraq’s security forces said that at around 2 a.m. Tuesday, a brawl broke out between two groups, beginning as a fistfight but escalating into shooting. Two security personnel were killed and two civilians injured, it said. Fourteen people were arrested. The statement did not say what caused the fight, but some local residents said Tuesday that it had been an altercation between supporters of rival candidates. By the time the polls opened, calm had been restored and a steady stream of voters lined up at polling stations, although many expressed apathy about the process. “We don’t really expect much to change other than the faces of our representatives at the parliament, but voting has become something we do out of habit, much like people who pray simply because it’s part of their routine,” said 60-year-old Nouraddin Salih, who cast his vote for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties. Ban Bahnam, 40, a member of the Assyrian minority, also said she expects little from the elections. “Our people are still leaving the country hopelessly,” she said. “Even without hopes or expectations, we still come and vote.” Legal challenges Ahead of the election, there were widespread allegations of corruption and vote-buying. Last week, security services arrested 46 people accused of illegally buying and selling voter cards in sting operations in several provinces, and some 1,841 cards in their possession were seized. The election results could also face legal challenges. The head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council wrote in a statement published on the council’s website that the election date set for Tuesday is unconstitutional, noting that the vote was originally scheduled for Nov. 24. Martany reported from Kirkuk, Iraq.
