Parliamentary elections being held in Iraq

15:27, 12.05.2018

Iraqis are heading to the polls on Saturday to elect a new national parliament, which will serve as the basis for the formation of a new government.

The polls will mark Iraq’s fourth parliamentary elections since the 2003 US-led invasion that removed Saddam Hussein from power.
Many parties have taken the opportunity to emphasise a unified, cross-sectarian national identity in the run-up to the vote after elections four years ago which came at a time when Iraq was plagued with some of the worst sectarian violence in recent history.

But unlike in 2014 and 2010, when large coalitions encompassing a wide spectrum of political groups ran, the 2018 election landscape is splintered by intra-sectarian divisions and fragmented Shia, Sunni and Kurdish factions.

The parliamentary elections will serve as the first national referendum since the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in 2017, Al Jazeera reports.

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Parliamentary elections