After the assassination of activist Ihab Al-Wazi last May, the protesters were divided into supporters to participate in the elections and another part in support of the boycott, and in this context the organization of wave held many dialogue sessions and was one of these sessions in the presence of the gentlemen
1. Dr. Aqeel Abbas/ Researcher and Academic
2. Mr. Hussein Al-Gharabi / Secretary-General of the National House
3. Dr. Fares Kamal Nazmi / Researcher and Academic
4. Mr. Mohammed Aziz /Activist
5. Professor Stephen Nabil / Media
6. Mr. Ammar Khudhair / Activist and Blogger
7. Professor Norse Adnan / Civil Activist and Founder of the “Ngdar” Movement
8. Professor Ghassan Shabib/ Member of the Extension Movement
9. Professor Shams Bashir/ Activist and activist in protests
10. Mr. Ali Hussein/ Activist and activist in protests
11. Dr. Haidar Saeed/ Academic Researcher
Dr. Aqeel Abbas said that there are many variables that met in the upcoming elections, the most important of which is a different electoral law, a different popular awareness and huge popular anger, and pointed to the diversity of people within the needs, so they discover the facts in a different part and we have to invest this diversity and become a factor of power instead of being a factor of dismantling, but regarding legitimacy, he believes that legitimacy is not an absolute and specific concept and that it is not in the hands of the protest granting legitimacy from otherwise because it includes millions of people who decide not to be legitimate. Going to the election, and that’s not the ability of the protests to control it.
Mr. Hussein Al-Ghurabi confirmed that the pre-Tishreen demonstrations demanded services, jobs, and simple demands, but Tishreen had a distinct and unique character, calling for the replacement of the political class, constitutional amendment, early elections, and an electoral law, Al-Ghurabi agreed that democracy and elections are the best, most mature, and safest way to change the political class, but only if conditions exist that allow a young competitor, an emerging party, or an independent personality to compete in the elections.”It is not possible to go to elections and their tools in the hands of the authorities and large parties,” he added, He stated that there are deputies, such as Faiq Sheikh Ali and Basem Khazal Khashan, who won votes and were barred from entering the Iraqi parliament, as proven by the highest court in Iraq, It is therefore ineffective and wasteful to use the same tools and waste time in order to give new impulses to revive this political system and political class, which will exploit the participation of new opposition parties in order to declare themselves as democrats, As a result, a political opposition front comprised of national parties and personalities must be formed, with an explanation program for the reasons for the boycott and the parties’ embarrassment in front of the world and the Iraqi people, However, there is an alternative that includes a political movement, a protest movement, a movement that discusses the lack of democracy in the Iraqi government, and a legal movement led by one of Iraq’s top lawyers to challenge the integrity of the elections through evidence, This, according to Al-Gharabi, is a better option than participating in the elections.
Dr. Faris Kamal Nazmi stated that we need an opposition within the parliament, and that after Tishreen, for the first time, he adopted the idea of political opposition from outside the traditional parliamentary framework, and that a political generation emerged with certain visions, which had not occurred in Iraq in the previous sixty years, and on the other hand,the regime’s behavior seeks to polarize the situation by pushing the protest framework to the sidelines and failing to establish a rapprochement that leads to the formation of elections that express the pulse of the street, the needs of society, and the values and demands of Tishreen, As a result, the regime seeks to prevent the opposition from participating in the elections through assassination, displacement, debt-purchase, intimidation, As long as there is an objective push for the formation of a distinct political opposition outside of Parliament, and as long as there is a political push that refuses to make concessions, a boycott must be established, However, the boycott will not be of realistic political value unless a coalition is formed that includes all of the forces of change that can eventually turn into a political side that works within the party framework as well as a protest side that works in a peaceful framework within the constitution, in addition to not providing the legitimacy that the political system desires, The results of the upcoming elections are expected to be a redistribution of the same electoral balance among the poles of the ruling political elites, regardless of whether the boycott occurred or not, and regardless of the type of boycott, due to the presence of the power elites’ financial and logistical capacity, and their ability to reorganize themselves within the new electoral law.
Mr. Muhammad Aziz also stated that boycotting elections is a way to improve the political system and that those who advocate for participation are destroying the only means of exerting pressure on the political system. He believes that some political parties will liquidate the strong candidates who compete with them, so the campaign to end impunity was launched, and it is a gateway to election participation, and the electoral process must be suspended until conditions improve.
Mr. Stephen Nabil explained that both boycotters and participants have good points, and that we need to set up a system to collect evidence that proves fraud. He emphasized the importance of campaigns to end impunity, adding that Iraq must be placed in the international media, clarify political problems, and not limit the global media’s attention to explosions.
Mr. Ammar Khudair stated that those who stand up to participate in the elections are brave, and their decision exposes them to great danger while expressing their pure purity, but entering the elections as a candidate only is a major problem because entering the electoral process requires a candidate, an observer, and an internal performance, and he believes that the emerging parties lack these tools, He believes that emerging parties lack these tools, and he claims that the boycotters did not propose any political project, and that what is happening is not opposition and should not be called opposition, because opposition is to be within a framework and oppose it. The international community is not interested in a country’s internal issues, but rather in dealing directly with governments, and we have no choice but to hold elections, even if the upcoming elections are not.
Mr. Nawras Adnan stated that the protests have evolved into two organizations, the first a political organization and the second a social organization aimed at assisting the process of change, There have been numerous pauses that have resulted in a process of divergence between these two organizations, and we must find appropriate mechanisms to bring these two organizations back together, this is the first step in organizing the protest line, after which the process of selecting the next steps takes place, whether they are participating in the elections or boycotting them.
Mr. Ghassan Shabib stated that voting is a duty for the sake of change, and that the new electoral law is an opportunity to displace political forces as well as compete with forces and the new youthful faces, he also believes that the amount of public and popular pressure that exists will provide an opportunity for the elections to be fair and proportionate, He also mentioned popular oversight, which refers to the presence of the mass movement, opposition forces, and unions that prevent election violations, And if the organization does not contest the elections, it will not be called an organization because one of the organization’s responsibilities is to gain entry into the elections in order to depose the authority and traditional forces, and, as he demonstrated, anyone who wants to remain in the protest line and the political opposition line but is not involved in political competition will be unable to take a step forward.
Shams Bashir stated that the reformist Iraqi national arena is divided into those who want to keep demonstrating, those who want to participate or boycott as political parties, and those who want to participate or boycott as voters, and that the Electoral Commission has made good amendments and reduced the chances of fraud.
Ali Hussein made the tenth intervention, stating that the participants in the Tishreen protests do not all share the same viewpoints and that it is not necessary for everyone to agree on one of the options, but that they must participate under democratic conditions in an electoral process in the presence of uncontrolled weapons and political money, and the advocates of the boycott must give an alternative solution to not repeat what happened in 2018.
Dr. Haidar Saeed pointed out that a group that had just departed the protest square was unable to compete with organized parties that play the electoral process professionally. The only action that was able to disrupt the current regime’s rhythm was the act of dissent. That’s in addition to the planned boycott, which aims to delegitimize the government at his discretion.
Output:
• The importance of investing in protest diversity in both political and protest aspects as a force factor, not a factor of dismantling and using all means that would reform the political system, whether through electoral participation or organized boycott.
• Elections are the best and safest way to reform the political system, but under specific conditions, the most important of which is the existence of electoral security, an honest election law and a competitive space that ensures equal chances of winning.
• Going to elections whose tools are in the hands of the current parties is a revival of the current political system and the loss of any hope for change.
• The need to establish a national opposition front in which all political entities and figures meet in accordance with the Constitution and oppose the regime from abroad without going into the field of elections. It has a political agenda and a clear plan that will allow it to be a political alternative to the current political class.
• Popular pressure campaigns to hold murderers and corrupt people accountable are necessary to embarrass the political class and force them to apply justice and protect the lives of unarmed citizens and activists who are wrongfully killed. It is also necessary to give these campaigns a global character in order to highlight them and bring them under the eyes of the United Nations and international human rights organizations.
