Iraq goes to vote. Five months after declaring victory over the caliphate, Iraq returns to the polls. Forecasts see the Shiites winning, even if divided, the Kurds in difficulty while the Sunnis paralyzed. It is the fourth time that the country has gone to the polls since the regime of Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003 and, unlike previous rounds, the electoral campaign took place peacefully without being accompanied by violence.
To avoid tensions, however, today, Saturday, the day of the vote, the authorities will close the borders and the airspace. The elections will take place in a climate of particular tension between the US and Iran, the two most influential powers in the country.
Among the Shiite lists Haider al-Abadi, former premier who seeks a new strong mandate for the victory proclaimed on ISIS. Haider will vie for leadership with his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki and Hadi al-Hameri, a former transport minister with close ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.
The fragmentation of the vote among the Shiite lists risks leading to a long negotiation between the parties before being able to see the establishment of a government.
Sharply downsized the Kurds due to the retaliatory measures implemented by the central government after the September independence referendum, as regards the Sunnis, who have four lists, they have no chance to return to power, but they should play a role support in the formation of the government.
The great ayatollah Ali Sistani, contrary to what happened in previous elections, did not call voters to the polls, but asked them to remove the "corrupt" and the "incapacitated" in a country ranked among the most corrupt in the world.