Holding Tightly

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Hundreds of Iraqis protested in the capital Baghdad on Monday to oppose an election bill that critics say would undermine independent candidates, the Associated Press reported.

The current law, which applied to the 2021 election, divides each of the country’s 18 provinces into multiple electoral districts.

That legislation was a key demand of the mass anti-government demonstrations that gripped Iraq in late 2019. Many supporters of the current law believe it gives independent candidates a boost.

But the new draft bill would increase the size of the country’s electoral districts, returning Iraq to one district per governorate. The proposal is supported by the Coordination Framework, a coalition of Iran-backed parties that currently form the dominant group in parliament.

Last week, parliament debated the bill but the discussion ended early after independent lawmakers – objecting to the proposal – walked out of the session.

Monday’s demonstrations come shortly a day after Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid told the AP that Iraq is now peaceful, democratic and intent on rebuilding the lives of its people nearly two decades after the ousting of the autocrat Saddam Hussein by US-led forces.