[IRQ]: New Elections

[Nathan]

Elections​

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In light of the recent suspension of the new Iraqi constitution 2 years ago due to security concerns, it was now time for the first election to be held under the new constitution. President Tawfeek would not be seeking re-election this cycle, however, Mohammed Naser would be seeking to leave the now abolished Prime Minister role and become the first President of the Republic of Iraq. Rayya Taha, running for the non-sectarian progress party could potentially become the first female President of Iraq;

All 330 seats of the Council of Representatives will now be up for grabs, as well as the 36 seats of the Senate. All CoR seats will be done via district first past the post voting, while the Senate will elect 2 senators from each governorate via FPTP. Governors will also be elected.

Opinion polls show the following parties in the lead;
Progress Party - Rayya Taha
Conservative Party - Mohammed Naser
Kurdish Alliance - Taslim Hana

 

[Nathan]

Iraqi Presidential Debates - 2004
Baghdad Univerity
Debate #1 - Unemployment and Armed Forces.

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Applause fills the room as the 2 candidates are introduced to the crowd in turn.

Mohammed Naser, the current Prime Minister is first to the stage. Muffled applause greets the weary Prime Minister. Record unemployment, crime and inflation were on the minds of the crowds as the man entered. His Prime Minister role would seen be a relic of history, replaced by a strong executive President. Prime Minister Naser was a retirment aged career politician with a receeding headline and thick glasses.

Taslim Hana of the Kurdish Alliance was the next candidate to take the stage. A middle aged man who had previously fought against the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. He had a scar above his right eye, a result of shrapnel from an RPG round. The man was tall and had a intimidating presence, filling his suit with his sheer size.

Rayya Taha entered the room to applause. Her presence elevated the spirit of the crowd as she entered. Rayya radiated hope and positivity, even though her head was covered with a head scalf. Opinion polls showed she was edging the way to becoming the first female Head of State of Iraq against all disbelief from the religious right.

Interviewer; "Thank you candidates for joining us. Prime Minister Naser, you will go first. Our first question is how do you intend to deal with the ongoing economic crisis in Iraq?"

Naser "Thank you. First of all, we would like to pay tribute to the Iraqi soldiers and police currently keeping us safe from harm. We believe that strong economic sacrifices need to be made. We need to prioritise funding of programmes and cut taxes on businesses, this is our only way to decrease inflation, create jobs and support our businesses."

Hana: "The end goal of our party is an independent Kurdistan. Our economy has been weighed down by poor governance from Baghdad. Our goal is to end Baghdad's imperialism and end the looting of Kurdistan"

Taha: "All we hear is doom and gloom from the current government. We say there is another way. They say the only way to end our economic crisis is too cut support from hard working Iraqis and cut taxes on the super rich. We say there is an alternative, strong economic support packages to improve the infrastructure to support our economy - a new port in Um Qasr, train lines up and down the country and a new metro line for Baghdad. We will introduce a new Affordable Health Care act to support those with pre-existing conditions to get health insurance.

Our next priority will be to end the water crisis. This will be our top priority, clean water should be a right not a luxury . My government will work for you, the people. We will bring Iraqi courts into a modern era - ensuring fair trials are delivered by a jury, not by the decision of a single judge. We are the progress party, brining the country into step with the modern world. We will bring unemployment from the current mess, too no more than 5%."

Interviewer: Prime Minister Naser, how will your government ensure the safety of the Iraqi people from ongoing internal and external threats

Naser: "Thank you, our government has made record investment into our armed services. We have formed new Territorial Defence Forces and a National Guard. We will continue to expand our navy, air force and army. With your support, we will ensure that no threats will be able to infiltrate our country"

Taha: "This government continues to waste money in developing a large military while it's citizens struggle to make ends meat. Under my direction, we will limit armed forces expansion to 125,000 army personnel, 150,000 National Guard personnel and 250,000 Territorial Defence Force members. We will not allow any further development past these numbers. We believe it is more than sufficient for the military to keep us safe - whilst allowing funding to go into transport, healthcare and supporting the poorest in society."

 

[Nathan]

Candidate Positions Updated

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All Candidates have announced they will support the New Caledonian rebels if elected President in July. Upon taking office in August, all candidates have stated they will provide political support the the rebels;

Candidate Nasser has stated that independence for the rebels is a common goal faced by many countries after decades of colonialism at the hands of the French empire.

Candidate Taha has also stated a similar line. She believes that New Caledonian impendence is a matter of time but that the rebels should be given the support they need to achieve these goals. She passed on her condolences to the Polish lives lost, but stated that Poland "Should not be interfering in internal matters of independent nations"

 

[Nathan]

Second Debate - Health Care

A head to head debate was the next stop for the two main candidates, Rayya Taha and Mohammed Nasser.

Taha: The reform party believes that the current model of healthcare is not working. Private insurance is pricing the poor out of the market. Under my plans, we will introduce a social healthcare programme called Medicare and Medicaid. One to provide support to those with long term disability and the other for those who are elderly. It is important that as a society we support those who need us. We will look to modernise and support hospitals up and down the country.”

Naser: “it may not surprise you to hear that I disagree with Mrs Taha, I firmly believe that the issue of healthcare should be left to the governates, not the federal government. It is an overstep for a federal government to interfere in what is not in its powers. Any attempt to pass a compulsory insurance policy will be taken to the Supreme Court”

Interviewer: on the topic of the Supreme Court, how will you appoint 9 justices to the new court?

Taha: “the reform party is quite clear that we will expect a fair process, as president I will offer the Conservative Party 4 seats on the court, as the winner I will nominate the remaining 5.. in the unlikely event that we lose. We would expect 4 seats. Mr Nasser, is this something you can confirm too for the benefit of our nation?

Nasser: well Mrs Taha, we may have just found something both of us can agree on. We would look to be fair and to ensure the court is balanced, as the justices will have life long membership of the panel.

The current opinion polls put candidate Taha in the lead with 60% as the race enters the last few days.

 

[Nathan]

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Across schools, community centres and town halls across Iraq, voting had taken place. Throughout the night, votes had filtered in governate by governate. The electoral college votes filtered in, until the magic number had been reached.

"The Baghdad post is now able to make the following prediction..."

The hosts paused as graphics flashed up on screen.

"...Rayya Taha will be the 6th President of Iraq. Overcoming all the odds, President-elect Taha will be the first female President of Iraq. We now predict, President Taha will carry 194 of the votes, Prime Minister Naser 121 and Candidate Hana 51. The President-elect will have a 2 seat majority in Council of Representatives and a 0 seat majority in the senate, meaning the Vice President Osama Mahdi will be the tie breaker in the Senate."

Celebrations took place across most of the Southern Iraq. However, up north Saddam Hussein begun to make moves against what he viewed as an affront to Iraq as a nation.

	Progress	Conservative	Kurdish Alliance
Electoral College	194	121	51
Council of Representatives	167	117	45
Senate	18	12	6