Iraq: Should NGO activists join the electoral fray?
| Publisher | IRIN |
| Publication Date | 17 February 2010 |
| Cite as | IRIN, Iraq: Should NGO activists join the electoral fray?, 17 February 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4b7e651a14.html [accessed 30 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
BAGHDAD, 17 February 2010 (IRIN) - A small number of local NGO officials are running in the 7 March parliamentary elections, prompting accusations by some analysts that they could jeopardize the neutrality of NGOs.
Basil al-Azawi, who heads the Baghdad-based Commission for Civil Society Enterprises (CCSE), an umbrella group for over 1,000 local NGOs, is running on the Al-Iraqiya list, a secular, liberal party led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
"The political process is still immature with sectarianism and self-interests dominating, and the NGO community is still excluded and marginalized," he told IRIN, adding that NGOs want the broadest possible participation in transparent elections.
He said NGO officials were also standing as candidates for eight other secular lists.
This is the second time Iraqi NGO activists have participated in elections since the 2003 US-led invasion. In provincial elections in January 2009, CCSE won three seats in Babil Provincial Council, about 100km south of Baghdad.
A step forward for NGOs?
Some analysts have hailed NGO activists' involvement in the political process as a step forward for NGOs, but others said any NGO officials elected would have to follow the political agenda of the parties which nominated them.
"I think the activist can't partner with the politician," said Jumaa Hassn Ali, a Basra-based analyst. "It is a fact that any candidate should follow the political agenda of his list so he will lose his neutrality in helping people."
"Getting into political life is fine but activists should be independent and equi-distant from politicians and beneficiaries. I think the only way forward is for [NGO] activists to run their own list," Ali said.
Mosul-based analyst Numan Khalid Edris disagreed: "Politics and politicians have dominated Iraqi society since 2003 in a way that has hampered development," Edris said. "By entering the elections activists will get a say they sorely need for their work... It is a step forward."
Al-Azawi said the parties NGO activists were running for were "all secular and believe in building an active NGO community to serve the Iraqi people".
According to the electoral commission, over 6,000 candidates are competing for 325 seats in parliament.
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