GAZA, ENDURING WINTER AND HUNGER
Press Release
Iraq, elections 2021: the voices of civil society
With three days to go before the Iraqi elections, Un Ponte Per and the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (ICSSI) launch a petition and an in-depth dossier, revealing the critical aspects of the Iraqi political landscape through the voices of civil society.
Rome, 6 October 2021 - Following the liberation from Daesh (ISIS), since October 2019 Iraq has been going through a profound political awakening, brought to the streets by protests by young people and women. Early elections on 10 October were called precisely in response to the demands of the 'Thawra Tishreen' (October Revolution) movement, but the electoral process has been led by traditional forces and characterised by the continued intimidation of militias against activists and new opposition forces. Since the start of the protests, more than 600 protesters, journalists and activists have been killed, 20,000 have been injured, and many more are missing (figures are constantly being updated).
This has generated a mass boycott reaction, which will leave its mark on the election results, and risks benefiting the more sectarian forces. Indeed, large sections of the population are turning towards protest abstention, driven by a deep distrust of the institutional system. Some parties - including those that emerged from the protests - have instead chosen a strategy of political boycott, blaming the unfairness of the system and the violence and intimidation to which their candidates are subjected.
Faced with such violations of political freedoms, Un Ponte Per, an Italian NGO active in peace-building in Iraq since 1991, andICSSI, a platform of international solidarity with Iraqi civil society, have prepared an in-depth dossier and launched a petition urging Italian and European institutions to press for full respect for political freedoms, especially of young people and women, without which any electoral process would be tainted.
The dossier produced briefly reconstructs the origin and evolution of the elections and the development of the contestation of the electoral process by Iraqi civil society. A diverse civil society exists in Iraq, active in the defence of human rights and protagonist of important social struggles. Hundreds of organisations have mobilised themselves by structuring extensive election monitoring networks, committed to detecting violations of democratic principles. Institutionally disadvantaged and little considered at the international level, these networks instead constitute a resource from below, branching out even in remote areas of Iraqi territory.
At this crucial moment, Un Ponte Per, thanks to its 30-year proximity to Iraqi civil society and its support to ICSSI, represents a direct contact with the voices of Iraqi human rights activists.
Link to the petition: https://bit.ly/3acu5XC
Download the dossier: "IRAQ. EARLY ELECTIONS ON 10 OCTOBER: PERSPECTIVES FROM IRAQI CIVIL SOCIETY".
For contacts/interviews with local actors write to stampa@unponteper.it - +39 351 619 8419
