Iraqis put religious rhetoric aside as election day nears

Baghdad: Economic reform has begun to overshadow religious rhetoric ahead of provincial council elections to be held in Iraq on January 31.

In the previous elections, Iraq has been plagued by campaigns built around religion and sectarianism, but many people have grown wary of the use of religion to secure governmental seats.

"After the bitter experience of the past three years, no candidate who simply uses religious rhetoric alone can be trusted. I think that Iraqis are overcoming this phase and realise that what is more important is the candidate's ability to provide much needed economic services to the people," Kawather Hussain, a student at Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad told Gulf News.

Slogans now focus on unemployment, residential building construction, the development of water and electricity infrastructure, and doing away with governmental quotas within the ministries which many people believe undermine appointments based on qualification.

"I live in a Shiite prov-ince, and if a Sunni candidate from Al Anbar ran for elections here, I would give him my vote, if he offered a good campaign to fight the corrupt administration here in the city of Al Diwaniyah. Iraqi voters are more aware now, and would less likely reject a candidate for sectarian reasons," said Gazi Al Nadawi, a local merchant.

In Diyala, a province with a mixed Sunni and Shiite population, the candidates from two communities are competing on the basis of an expanded programme of reform. Al Diyala ranked the worst in development in a recent Iraqi economic report.

"In the past, Sunni and Shiite candidates have benefited from sectarian tension to secure votes from their local communities," Fakhri Kamil Al Ezi, a prominent resident of Diyala explained.

"The facts on the ground have demonstrated that candidates elected on sectarian platforms have failed to advance their communities, as many parts of Diyala have no electricity, drinking water, roads, or agriculture. I'm sure that voters will want to elect someone who would be more efficient and work for comprehensive reform for this dilapidated city," he added.

This change has transcended the voters and now political parties in power are avoiding nominating partisan figures to key positions. Instead they are searching for well-qualified leaders, with high degrees in engineering, health, and management.

"Previous elections saw candidates without university degrees, many even held fake degrees," Fouad AL Lami, an officer in the Electoral Commission told Gulf News.

"Now political parties are careful to provide qualified candidates to avoid political defeat in the upcoming elections," he added.