Some in Baghdad are asking whether the decision to postpone elections in the provinces of Anbar and Nineveh will be reversed, following pressure from both internal and international powers, notably the United Nations and the United States. US Secretary of State John Kerry explicitly expressed his country’s objection to this decision.

The decision to postpone elections in the two provinces — both of which have seen anti-government protests over the past three months — was explained in a brief statement that stressed two important factors. The first concerned the security situation in Anbar and Mosul, and the second involved the fear that elections would open the door for “terrorists” to assume the seat of power.

The internal response to these justifications came from the protesters themselves and from some conspicuous Shiite powers, such as the Sadrist movement and Ammar Hakim’s movement. On the international level, responses came from Kerry and from Martin Kobler, the U.N. secretary-general's representative in Iraq. The reply relies on two arguments.

The first stresses that the security situation in Anbar and Nineveh reached a peak when the Constituent Assembly elections took place in 2005, and when the constitution was passed in a referendum. A similarly disturbing situation didn't hinder provincial elections in 2009, or the parliamentary elections of 2010.