nearly 7,000 candidates are running for
Parliament here in Iraq and after the
winners are chosen the new government
including the Prime Minister and
president will be selected it is the
first election since Islamic state
militants were all but completely driven
out of Iraq giving many hope for
recovery under a newly formed leadership
many people we talked to here say they
are dispirited by decades of wars and
economic crises some say they do not
plan to vote because they believe their
system is so corrupt that new
politicians won't make a difference yes
it's a desperate situation nothing will
be changed the results are already
settled for the ones that are famous for
corruption but some candidates say
replacing old politicians is the only
way to address some of the public's most
pressing needs jobs security and
economic growth I want to wage war
against the corruption we have more
corruption than we should in the
Parliament and the government facilities
some analysts say alliances have shifted
internationally and within Iraq and the
new Parliament will have a difficult
time agreeing on a new government
traditionally Iraq's top leadership not
only has to have support from within but
from international powers like the
United States and Iran both Iraqi allies
and international rivals security is
expected to be tight here in the coming
days and through the elections as
militants have made threats against the
poles but locals say they are not afraid
here because after the near defeat of
Islamic state militants last year they
say they feel safer than they have in
years
reporting from Baghdad in Iraq I'm
Heather Murdoch VOA news