Iraqis have begun voting for the first time in a decade to select new provincial council members, who in turn will appoint governors, with the outcome seen as a bellwether for the parliamentary elections due to take place in 2025. Saturday’s vote is restricted to military and security personnel and internally displaced people living in camps, with the main polling set to take place on Monday. Concerns were raised about a low voter turnout and potential violence spreading in the long-awaited polls taking place in the country’s 18 provinces. The powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called for a boycott. Activists opposed to all the ruling parties also vowed to sit the polls out.
