IRAQ – Iraqis are going to the polls Saturday to vote in their first parliamentary elections since the defeat of ISIS last year, with the economy, jobs, security and corruption high on the list of voters’ concerns as the country seeks to rebuild after years of conflict. Ahead of the election, Abadi sought to broaden his coalition to bring in significant Sunni figures and avoid overt sectarianism -- and his was the only coalition running in all 18 of Iraq's provinces. For those who did attempt to vote, some in Baghdad complained of voting irregularities at polling stations linked to a new electronic system implemented for the first time this year in an effort to reduce fraud. They will be competing for 329 seats, including nine reserved for minorities — Christians, Shabaks, Yazidis, Mandeans and Fayli Kurds — and 83 for women.
Voters in Iraq go to the polls. One quarter of the 329 seats in the Council of Representatives must go to women.