The last session of the Iraqi parliament was held on 7 October.
Since its first session in September 2018, the current parliament has met 149 times, in a period of intense protests for months that have brought the elections one year ahead of the expected deadline. According to the Iraqi Parliamentary Observatory, this was “the worst parliament in comparison to the three assemblies elected since the first elections in 2005”.
Out of a total of 229 deputies, thirteen are not registered on any of the standing committees; 57 never made a speech, participated, took the floor or presented an agenda; 31 attended the meeting only once; four have never taken the constitutional oath. The overall activity of the House of Representatives is equivalent to 61 seven-hour working days.
Little chance
With a parliament moving in such slow motion, 45 percent of Iraqis believe that no change will come from the early elections on 10 October. Competition rages among more than 3,500 male and female candidates for 329 parliamentary seats, spread across the country’s 83 constituencies.
The usual dominant parties will take the next parliament. There is little chance that new and independent MPs will be elected. The researcher Alaa Adres argues that it will be the political consensus between the main parties, and not the parliamentary vote, that will determine the important decisions: “For this reason, the deputies do not care”.
(Translation by Francesco De Lellis)
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