Election commission staff disillusioned with politics

Staff from Iraq's independent electoral commission (IHEC) may be enforcing electoral processes, but even they are not spared by the disillusionment with politics widespread across the country.

One IHEC staff member working in a Kirkuk election centre said staff were able to vote early today, when the centres first opened.

“I participated, but I voted for no-one,” he told MEE. “None of these candidates will do anything for us, so I refused to vote for any of them.”

His symbolic vote of an unmarked ballot sheet was fed into the scanner secured onto the top of the ballot box, intended to ensure that each vote is both immediately recorded electronically and also preserved physically.

A 24-year-old law graduate with a master's degree, this IHEC staff member - who, like many others, is a volunteer - has only been able to find regular work with an Iraqi telecoms company earning $200 per month, despite being highly educated.

Iraq’s politicians are failing him now, just as they have failed the rest of his family for decades, the young man said.