IRAQIS WILL BE VOTING BUT THEIR HOPES FOR CHANGE ARE NOT HIGH: Iraqis are going to the polls today to elect a new parliament - the fifth time since the US invasion of 2003 that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The elections come two years after major anti-government protests that were met with trademark brutality of the security forces and their allied militias. About 600 people were killed and no one has been held accountable. The demands are the same today as they have been in the past: security, jobs, peace, and dignity. In a country awash with oil and other natural resources, that should not be too much to ask. But, limitless corruption, brutality of the security forces and armed militias, and mismanagement have meant that unemployment is high and basic services like electricity and healthcare absent. The same faces are expected to reemerge in positions of power after today’s polls. Naturally, people’s hopes for change are not much. [COMMENT BY: Omar Shariff, International Editor]
AFP