Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Election offers chance to settle scores

1319331
1319331
minus
plus

RAMADI: In the vast desert province of Anbar where IS militants first emerged in Iraq, parliamentary elections next month are an opportunity for the residents to settle scores.


Many of the new candidates are eager to push out lawmakers they believe minimised the danger of — or even sympathised with — the extremists that stormed across the country in the summer of 2014.


“The political class that existed before IS is no longer suitable. They have lost their credibility with the residents of Anbar,” said Rafea al Fahdawi, who heads the candidate list in the province for the Victory Alliance led by Prime Minister Haider al Abadi.


“They were involved in bringing terrorism and made people believe that terrorists were just rebels belonging to our tribes. The people of Iraq will punish them at the ballot box,” said Fahdawi, leader of the Tribes Against Terrorism coalition that battled militants in the western province.


In the lush garden surrounding his home in the city of Ramadi, tents were set up to host crowds that came to listen to Abadi, part of the premier’s campaign tour in the area.


“We fought against terrorism, and today, thanks to our campaign, we want to continue the fight against sectarianism. We have great hope for change,” said Fahdawi, 62, dressed in a traditional white robe.


In late 2013, tribes in Anbar rose up against the government in Baghdad.


In January 2014, IS militants captured the city of Fallujah just west of the capital, and after a year of heavy fighting they took the city of Ramadi too.


It was not until 2016 that the Iraqi army and the paramilitary forces of the Hashed al Shaabi managed to retake the two cities, recovering full control of Anbar province in late 2017.


The people of Anbar are eager for change, their feelings fuelled by burning disappointment with the political class.


In the largely agricultural province, where tribes carry considerable weight, 352 candidates are competing on 18 lists for 15 seats.


A quarter of the contenders are running for office for the first time, according to the electoral commission, who say the province’s electoral lists include women and young people.


“The Iraqi people, in general, want to see radical and complete change. We will not accept the same faces under different (party) names and slogans,” said Sheikh Mohammed al Nimrawi, a leader of the Khalidiya tribes in Ramadi.


In a sign of the times, election fever has taken over the province.


It is a stark difference from previous polls and campaigns, which were bleak and almost secretive affairs as militants increased attacks on polling stations.


Despite IS threats against this year’s elections, campaign posters are everywhere in Anbar — hanging on the city’s destroyed homes and on the walls of newly rented candidate offices.


Even more surprising is the presence of a list from the Conquest Alliance led by Hadi al Ameri, the most well-known leader of the Hashed al Shaabi.


Ameri fought for Tehran in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war and has been accused of forming death squads in Iraq at the height of sectarian tensions nearly 10 years ago. — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon