Vote for Change in Iraq
It is almost certain that Iraq’s parliamentary elections will be held in October. All legal and basic requirements to hold these elections have been fulfilled. It seems that the protests in Iraq are now on crossroads and is also in a very difficult situation.
Elections are one of the most affordable means of bringing real and institutional changes in Iraq where the equation of governance is deeply flawed. But it is not the only way. Protests should not be reduced just to elections.
However, it is also important to invest in the upcoming elections. Through the ballot boxes alone, this new awareness of Iraqi patriotism can be transformed into gains and bring political and institutional realities in favour of the protests. There are encouraging indications of popular readiness to make change through the ballot boxes. Recent revisions of the voters’ list shows that around 70 per cent people are eligible for voting.
This means that the public is very much willing to participate in the upcoming elections, unlike 2018, when the real participation rate was less than 20 per cent. It is not wise to miss this opportunity of popular readiness to bring changes peacefully in a country afflicted by bloody conflicts.
The (ongoing protests which are called) Tishreen revolution reconciles with politics and adopts it as a basic tool for change. It is presenting a different, moral and institutional model for politics to serve the society and re-connect it with the state.
(by Aqeel Abbas in Sky News Arabia)
Iran Wins
It was natural for Washington to try for an understanding with Iran, first by concluding a nuclear agreement during the days of Barack Obama, then by negotiations to return to it, after the failure of strict Trump sanctions. Tehran has now returned to a better position in the “tug of war” with the new US President Joe Biden. It is expanding its areas of manoeuvring in violation of the provisions of the nuclear agreement. It has reached to the point of raising the rate of uranium enrichment at the “Natanz” facility to 60 per cent, which is close to the 90 per cent required for making the atomic bomb.
Iran has made a condition that all US sanctions should be lifted, in exchange for reviewing the procedures for increasing enrichment. There is a threat of turning the tables on all sides, particularly after Iran won the support of Moscow and Beijing. Both of them are immersed in a global war of influence with Washington. Iran is no longer in a hurry, particularly, after the recently concluded “Sino-Iranian agreement”, which gives Tehran an opportunity to get 400 billion dollars of Chinese investments over the next quarter of a century. It will have implications on US sanctions. It scares Gulf countries that America will leave them. It is also worrying for Israel which is surrounded by chains of Iranian influence groups.
(by Abdul Haleem Qindeel in Al Quds Al Araby)
Compiled and Translated by Faizul Haque