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Iraqi candidates exchange government jobs for votes

Despite the Iraqi people’s aspirations for a democratic state, many politicians hand out government jobs during election season to ensure votes.
An employee from an employment centre receives files from residents seeking jobs in Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad March 1, 2011. Hundreds of residents gathered on Tuesday in front of an employment centre to submit files of their documents and CV's following recent demonstrations demanding improved basic services and job opportunities in Iraq's southern oil hub of Basra.  REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS EMPLOYMENT BUSINESS) - RTR2JAA6
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It's well understood that elections usually entail unusual political actions, aggressive behavior, mutual attempts to discredit others and dissemination and talk about scandals, as well as woo voters through promises and commitments that, for the most part, go unfulfilled.

But it's not acknowledged that elections are transformed into a market for government jobs, and that candidates from the various factions effectively control thousands of government jobs that are used to garner electoral votes.

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