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Sunday, May 13, 2018

2018 Iraqi Parliamentary Election Saturday May 12,2018 - Record abstention in Iraq's first nationwide election since Islamic State group defeat

Iraqis on Saturday May 12,2018 inflicted a blow on a political class they view as corrupt by shunning the first legislative elections since victory over Islamic State jihadists. 

 

More than half of the nearly 24.5 million voters did not show up at the ballot box in the parliamentary election , the highest abstention rate since the first multiparty elections in 2005, although it passed off largely peacefully.

The poll -- in which turnout was just 44.52 percent -- came with tensions surging between key powers Iran and the US after Washington pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, sparking fears of a destabilising power struggle over Iraq

The low turnout was also partly blamed on a curfew and vehicle ban that came into force after midnight across several provinces in Iraq.

The restrictions left the streets of the capital, Baghdad, empty during the early hours of the vote.

With public transport also banned, only vehicles belonging to security forces and politicians were allowed to move around.


 

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