Iraq's Anbar eyes political battle as displaced return
The competition for May's election has already started among Anbar's politicians, while there are still many IS sleeper cells in the province.
HADITHA, Iraq — Two months after government forces retook Iraq’s last major city from the Islamic State (IS), the country is preparing for parliamentary elections slated for May.
Anbar, its largest and westernmost region, is where IS took control of its first Iraqi city in January 2014. Fighters from the international terrorist group are reportedly still hiding in parts of its vast desert.
How the shift from fighting a terrorist group with roots in the area to competition at the political level plays out will affect the years to come.
Provincial Gov. Mohamed al-Halbusi, who took office in the fall, told Al-Monitor that voter turnout had been very low in the province for many years due to the fear of insurgents but that he expected this to change in the upcoming elections.
