UN Iraq mission confirms Iraqi voter turnout disappointing

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The United Nations mission in Iraq (UNAMI) in a Monday statement said that although the early parliamentary elections a day earlier proceeded smoothly, the apparent historic low turnout “was disappointing to many.”

Statement by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), on the Iraqi elections pic.twitter.com/KwwLFI3tX7

— UNAMI (@UNIraq) October 11, 2021

The “initial” turnout stands at 41 percent all over Iraq, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said on Monday. That initial figure is less than the 2018 election’s final 44.5 percent turnout, a sign that voters are tired of the current political system.

Read More: Iraqi Elections 2021: Duhok witnesses highest voter turnout in Kurdistan Region

“The 10th of October was a day for all Iraqis. We are pleased to note that the elections proceeded smoothly and featured significant technical and procedural improvements, although the turnout was disappointing to many,” UNAMI said.

“It is also important to recognize the significance of yesterday’s elections: the realization of a demand that Iraqis have consistently voiced for two years, and the fifth elections in the history of Iraq’s young democracy,” the statement added.

The United Nations also said IHEC deserves credit “for working hard to organize yesterday’s elections. We also commend the great efforts of Iraq’s security forces on polling day.”

“As we have repeatedly emphasized, elections are not an objective in and of themselves. They are a means to an end, and that end is improved governance. The Iraqi people deserve nothing less. Time is of the essence,” the statement concluded.

In an echo of the UNAMI statement, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, urged Iraqi parties to form a government as soon as possible and praised security forces and electoral bodies for the largely peaceful conduct during the elections.

He called on “stakeholders to show patience and respect for the electoral timeline while the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) tabulates the results, to resolve any electoral disputes that may arise through established legal channels, and to complete the electoral process by forming a government as soon as possible.”

Nearly 800 international observers monitored Iraq’s fifth election since the end of Iraq’s Ba’athist regime in 2003, including observation teams sent from the United Nations and the European Union.

The UN deployed hundreds of its staff for the Iraqi election observation in provinces across Iraq, which the UN called its current biggest electoral mission worldwide.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN’s Special Representative and head of the United Nations’s Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), told Kurdistan 24 in August that the UN did not have executive powers during the election process.

Read More: UN Iraq Special Representative says that finding common ground is essential

“We cannot act on behalf of the authorities, we can only monitor and report, and thus to emphasize the importance of accountability.”