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Iraqi Politicians Need to Reconnect With Society

Iraqi politicians local election campaigns are out of touch with the needs of the people. 

An elderly Iraqi man on a wheelchair receives help as he votes during Iraq's provincial elections at a polling station in Mosul, 390 km (242 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2013. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly  (IRAQ - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTX10UKC
An elderly Iraqi man in a wheelchair receives help as he votes during Iraq's provincial elections at a polling station in Mosul, 390 km (242 miles) north of Baghdad, June 20, 2013. — REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousuly

Electoral campaigns in Iraq — such as the ones in 2005 and 2010 — refer to the days right before the elections, during which pictures of candidates are hung in public places and advertisements on television promote candidates, who communicate with tribes and clerics to urge them to cast their vote in their favor.

The truth is that the concept of an "electoral campaign" has expanded across the world, and has become an integral part of political practice — whether the elections are in the offing or not.

On this basis, it is true to say that political practice serves in one aspect as an electoral campaign, through which politicians seek to assess the views of the street beforehand, work on changing negative attitudes and create deep positive feelings.

However, this is not the case in Iraq. That is why we find a large gap between electoral slogans and political practice in Iraq.

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