Iraqis Protest Against January Vote
BAGHDAD: Demonstrators took to the streets across Iraq on Saturday against plans to enact a controversial closed voting system which does not name candidates standing for office.
The protests in Baghdad, the northern city of Kirkuk and the southern port of Basra came after a call by Iraq’s top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani for MPs to adopt an open process for the parliamentary elections in January.
In central Baghdad, protesters gathered at Firdos Square, carrying Iraqi flags and placards reading “Closed Lists Strengthen Sectarianism and Racism” and in support of Sistani’s stance.
“Seeing the names of candidates is important—we have to know for whom we are going to vote,” Makki Awad, an Iraqi actor at the demonstration, told media.
