Early results show record low turnout in Iraq election

The Independent High Electoral Commission on Monday said preliminary results show turnout from Sunday’s election was 41%.

Iraq saw a record low election turnout since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, the independent body that oversees the election said on Monday. The preliminary results signal widespread dissatisfaction and distrust in this weekend’s vote for a new Parliament.

The election was held months ahead of schedule as a concession to a youth-led popular uprising against corruption and mismanagement. But the vote was marred by widespread apathy and a boycott by many of the same young activists who thronged the streets of Baghdad and Iraq’s southern provinces in late 2019, calling for change and new elections.

The Independent High Electoral Commission on Monday said preliminary results show turnout from Sunday’s election was 41%. That’s down from 44% in the 2018 elections, which was an all-time low.