Cultured citizens say elections will not make big change

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Cultured people throughout Iraq expressed belief that the coming provincial council elections will not make a big change to the war-torn country. “The coming elections are considered as an important move in the democratic and constitutional life in Iraq, but I do not support exaggeration,” the writer and political analyst, Gomaa al-Halafi, told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Big parties which took part in the previous elections still dominate the political life in Iraq and have the money and means, including ways that violate the elections law,” he justified. He does not expect big changes in the provincial councils, but rather believes it will increase the people awareness in choosing the best candidate for their interests. The provincial council elections are scheduled to be held on January 31 in Iraq’s 18 provinces save Kirkuk and the three autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya, and Duhuk. A total of 14,431 candidates, including 3,912 women, from all over Iraq are competing for 440 seats in the upcoming provincial council elections. The writer said the national media center made a survey, in which around 50 percent of Iraqis will vote for secular political powers not a religious one, which, according to the writer, is evidence of the increase in the Iraqi voter’s awareness. Adel Abdallah, writer and managing editor of the al-Shabaka magazine, expressed regret for not benefiting from the experiences of the global democracies. “The coming elections are not a temporary project, but we are about to set up a fixed national strategy,” he said. The managing editor of the of Kilkamish magazine, Suhail Nijm, expressed optimism with the upcoming elections, saying “the elections will establish an electoral culture for Iraqis.” “The upcoming elections will make a new political culture in Iraq, which will benefit the democratic experience in the country,” he added. SH (S)/SR 3