Iraqi politicians fail to convince voters change is possible
While all of Iraq’s disparate political factions claim to seek the very change voters are demanding, none so far have taken any action to truly convince their electorates.
No one in Iraq is satisfied with the country’s situation. The term “change” is on everyone’s lips, from the top of the ruling pyramid to the ordinary man in the street.
Although the goals of change in Iraq are not quite clear, everyone agrees that change can only be brought about through elections.
The low number of voters who showed up to update their records in preparation for the legislative elections in April 2014 is worrisome and raises questions about the will for change. The figures leaked from the Electoral Commission indicate that fewer than 500,000 people updated their records days before the expiration of the statutory period.
Even though leaders such as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr called on voters to update their records, this failed to raise the participation rates to numbers significant enough to make an impact.
