Iraq went to the polls yesterday with the lowest turnout in the country's history, a drop in public confidence in the country's democratic system, which is under increasing pressure from armed militias and Iran.
The parties representing the Shiite elite in the country are expected to have unprecedented success, after opposition groups to these parties abstained from voting due to growing frustration with the country’s political system.
However, it appears that the party of cleric Muqtada a-Sadr, who opposes Iran's influence over Baghdad, will succeed in the election.
Experts in the state estimated that the election would not significantly change the balance of power but Sadr, a conservative cleric, would increase his control over state institutions.
The news agency reported that in the Shiite strongholds in Baghdad, there was growing frustration among Iranian Shiites, and many were interested in seeing, alongside an American withdrawal, a complete cessation of foreign intervention.
