Polls opened across Iraq on Saturday in the first national election since the declaration of victory over the Islamic State group. Many who did vote cited patronage and personal connections for going to the polls. “It’s all lies, lies, lies.”Ramadan Mohsen, 50, brought his grandson to the polling station to cast a blank vote. The tepid turnout worried politicians and activists who say they will try in 2022 to bring young voters out. “Voters were alienated by the mismanagement of the country by the political parties,” said Ali Radan, 22, an elections observer in Baghdad and an ambitious political organizer.

Source: Washington Post May 13, 2018 23:15 UTC