Masum urges holding parliamentary polls in “fair, transparent atmosphere”
Iraqi President Fuad Masum
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi President Fuad Masum ordered on Saturday the upcoming parliamentary elections, slated for May, to be held in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere, according to Baghdad Today news website.
Addressing a ceremony held on the occasion of the Iraqi Martyr Day, Masum said, “Holding the next parliamentary polls in a fair and transparent atmosphere will avenge the blood of martyrs, who lost their lives while fighting for their country’s unity and dignity.”
Masum further stressed the need for closing ranks among the Iraqi people in line with the Iraqi Constitution, and bringing all the displaced people back home as soon as possible.
At the end of his speech, the president praised sacrifices made by Iraqi police and army in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group.
The Iraqi parliamentary elections, slated for May 12, will decide the 329 members of the Council of Representatives who will in turn elect the Iraqi president and prime minister.
The elections were originally scheduled for September 2017, but were delayed due to the country’s fight against Islamic State, which ended in December 2017 with the recapture of their remaining territories.
Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December with the help of a US-led alliance, having retaken all the territory captured by the extremists in 2014 and 2015.