A boycott call and security concerns mar Iraq’s first provincial elections in a decade

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Baghdad’s streets are nearly empty on Monday, the main day of polling in the country’s first provincial elections in a decade. The vote has been boycotted by an influential political bloc and marred by scattered and allegations of election violations. The vote to select new provincial council members, who in turn will appoint governors, is widely seen as a bellwether for the parliamentary election due to take place in 2025. Muqtada al-Sadr, a powerful Shiite cleric and political leader who has officially resigned from politics, called on his supporters to boycott the provincial elections, saying that their participation would reinforce the dominance of a corrupt political class.