A year after hard-earned elections: the time to act is now
10 October 2022
Baghdad, 10 October 2022 - A year ago, Iraqis went to the polls with the hope of charting a new future for their country. It was a hard-earned election, brought about by public pressure from nationwide protests in which several hundreds of young Iraqis lost their lives and thousands were injured. Regretfully, this reaffirmation of democracy was followed by divisive politics, generating bitter public disillusion.
Today, Iraq is running out of time. The protracted crisis is breeding further instability, and recent events are a testament to that. In addition, it threatens people’s livelihoods. The adoption of a budget for 2023 before the end of the year is imperative.
Relentless efforts were undertaken in the past weeks and months for all actors to embark on a path towards political stability, but to no avail. It is now time for the political class to assume responsibility and match words with action.
All actors must engage in dialogue without preconditions. Through compromise, they must collectively agree on key outcomes that reaffirm their publicly stated objective, which is to service the needs of the Iraqi people and establish a fully empowered and effective government. The time to act is now.
Jean El Alam
UN entities involved in this initiative
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