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Iraqis voted for a new parliament Tuesday, with an unexpectedly high turnout of more than 55 percent, at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region.Iraq, which has long been vulnerable to proxy wars and is closely watched by Iran and the United States, has recently regained a sense of stability.But, even as it tries to move past two decades of war since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, the country of 46 million suffers from poor infrastructure and public services, mismanagement and corruption.Iraq’s electoral commission said more than 12 million people took part out of 21 million eligible voters, despite influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr calling on his supporters to boycott the vote.The unexpected turnout is a sharp jump from the record low of 41 percent in 2021, belying a sense of apathy and scepticism.Preliminary results are expected within 24 hours of polls closing, but Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who hopes for a second term, is expected to secure a large bloc but fall short of a majority.Many boycotters told reporters the elections wouldn’t bring meaningful change to their daily lives and said that the vote was a sham that only benefits political elites and regional powers.No new leadership contenders have recently emerged, with the same Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians remaining at the forefront.- Failed boycott? -Analyst Hamzeh Hadad said the higher turnout, even if still lower than the scores of 62 percent in 2010 and 2014, “is a positive step for Iraq” and shows Sadr’s “influence is really limited to his followers”.”It means no political leader can hold back democratic elections in Iraq,” he added. The ballot this year was marked by the absence of Sadr who retains a devoted following of millions among Iraq’s majority Shiite population.In 2021, Sadr secured the largest bloc before withdrawing from parliament following a dispute with Shiite parties which culminated in deadly fighting in Baghdad.IN the years since US-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, Iraq’s long-oppressed Shiite majority has dominated, with most parties retaining ties to neighbouring Iran.By convention in post-invasion Iraq, a Shiite Arab  holds the powerful post of prime minister and a Sunni Arab that of parliament speaker, while the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd. Sudani is likely to win but, with no single party or list expected to achieve an outright majority, must win over a coalition that can secure enough allies to become the largest bloc.Sudani rose to power in 2022 with the backing of the Coordination Framework, a ruling alliance of Shiite parties and factions all linked to Iran.Although they run separately, Shiite parties within the Coordination Framework are expected to reunite after elections and likely pick the next premier.Sudani has touted his success in keeping Iraq relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.Sunni parties contested separately, with the former speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi expected to do well.In the autonomous Kurdistan region, the rivalry between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan remains.- Delicate balance -On the ground however, Iraqis said they cast their votes hoping for a change. “We have unemployment and people are tired, we need progress,” said Ali Abed, 57, in the northern city of Mosul.But the next prime minister has also another difficult task. He will have to maintain the delicate balance between Iraq’s allies, Iran and the US, even more so now that the Middle East is undergoing seismic changes, with new alliances forming and old powers weakening.Even as its influence wanes elsewhere, Iran hopes to preserve its power in Iraq — the only close ally that stayed out of Israel’s crosshairs after the heavy losses Iran’s other allies have incurred in Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza since 2023.Tehran has meanwhile focused on other interests in Iraq — challenging the US with powerful Tehran-backed armed groups, and keeping the Iraqi market open to products from its crippled economy.Washington, which still wields influence in Iraq and has forces deployed there, conversely hopes to break Iran’s grip, and has been pressuring Baghdad to disarm the pro-Iran groups.

UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher held Tuesday what he called “constructive” talks with Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to ensure life-saving aid reaches all corners of the war-ravaged country.Since April 2023, the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million, creating one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises.”I very much welcome the constructive conversations I had with President Burhan… aimed at ensuring that we can continue to operate everywhere across Sudan to deliver in a neutral, independent and impartial way for all those who are in such dire need of international support,” Fletcher said, in a video released by Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council.The UN official’s comments came after he met with Burhan in Port Sudan, the de facto capital since the war began.Fletcher arrived in Sudan on Tuesday for a week-long mission, pledging to “back peace efforts, uphold the UN charter, and push for our teams to get the access and funding they need to save lives across the battle lines.” During the meeting, according to thae army-backed council, Burhan “stressed the need for UN agencies to respect Sudan’s sovereignty and national interests, in light of what happened in the city of El-Fasher”.Fletcher also met Egyptian diplomats to discuss ways of scaling up aid, according to a statement from Cairo’s foreign ministry. Burhan also met World Food Programme deputy executive director Carl Skau, who praised their “honest and constructive discussion”. Sudan’s army-aligned government expelled two senior WFP officials last month, declaring them “persona non grata”, despite the agency warning that 24 million Sudanese face acute food insecurity.- Fighting persists –  The talks come two weeks after the RSF captured El-Fasher, the last army stronghold in western Darfur.Reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions and looting have since emerged.Burhan had previously vowed his forces would “take revenge” and fight “until this land is purified”.Last Thursday, the RSF said it had agreed to a truce proposal put forward by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. But attacks have persisted.On the day the paramilitaries backed the truce, they shelled a hospital in the besieged city of Dilling in South Kordofan, killing five. Explosions were heard in the army-controlled capital Khartoum the following day.The UN migration agency said nearly 39,000 people have fled fighting in several towns across the oil-rich Kordofan region since El-Fasher fell. On Monday, the RSF deployed forces to the strategic city of Babanusa in West Kordofan, threatening to “fight until the last moment.”In North Kordofan, residents told AFP they fear an imminent assault on El-Obeid, a key cross roads between Darfur and the national capital Khartoum.Sudan’s army-aligned government has yet to respond to the truce proposal.- ‘Grinding to a halt’ -Since El-Fasher’s fall, nearly 90,000 people have fled, while tens of thousands remain trapped in “famine-like conditions as hospitals, markets and water systems collapse,” according to the UN migration agency. Last week, the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification declared famine in the city.Famine has also been confirmed in Kadugli, South Kordofan, with 20 more areas across Darfur and Kordofan at risk. Last year, the IPC declared famine in three displacement camps near El-Fasher.Amy Pope, director general of the International Organisation for Migration, warned that without safe access humanitarian operations “risk grinding to a halt at the very moment communities need support the most”.UN Women’s Anna Mutavati said on Tuesday that women fleeing El-Fasher “have endured starvation… displacement, rape and bombardment”, with pregnant women giving birth “in the streets as the last remaining maternity hospitals were looted and destroyed”.Analysts say Sudan is now effectively divided with the RSF dominating all of Darfur and parts of the south while the army holds most of Sudan’s north, east and centre.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Tuesday that any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank would be a “red line” and would provoke a European reaction.He spoke as Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Paris one month into a fragile truce between Hamas and Israel, following two years of war triggered by the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.Abbas, 89, is the longtime head of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited control over parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and is being considered to possibly assume governance in Gaza under the deal.Macron, whose country in September recognised a Palestinian state, warned against any Israeli plans for annexation in the West Bank following an uptick in violence in the Palestinian territory.”Plans for partial or total annexation, whether legal or de facto, constitute a red line to which we will respond strongly with our European partners,” Macron said at a joint press conference with Abbas.”The violence of the settlers and the acceleration of settlement projects are reaching new heights, threatening the stability of the West Bank and constitute violations of international law,” the French president said.Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.At least 1,002 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the West Bank, according to official Israeli figures.- Constitutional committee -Following their meeting to discuss the next steps after the Gaza ceasefire, Macron and Abbas announced the creation of a joint committee “for the consolidation of the state of Palestine”, the French leader said.It “will contribute to the drafting of a new constitution, a draft of which President Abbas presented to me”.Abbas renewed his commitment to “reforms”, including “holding presidential and parliamentary elections after the end of the war”.”We are nearing completion of a draft of the provisional constitution of the state of Palestine and the laws on elections and political parties,” he added.Under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan, an international security force drawn from Arab and Muslim allies would stabilise Gaza as Israeli troops withdraw, while a transitional authority would take over the territory’s administration from Hamas until the Palestinian Authority has carried out reforms.Trump said last week he expected an International Stabilisation Force tasked with monitoring the ceasefire to be in Gaza “very soon”.Last month’s ceasefire has been tested by fresh Israeli strikes and claims of Palestinian attacks on Israeli soldiers.Hamas’s October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.The Israeli military’s retaliatory campaign has since killed more than 69,000 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

On the streets of Damascus on Tuesday, Syrians viewed their leader’s visit to Washington as a shift towards the West that could pave the way to reviving the country’s war-battered economy.On Monday, Donald Trump received Ahmed al-Sharaa, a first for a Syrian head of state since independence in 1946 and a crowning achievement for the former jihadist, whom Washington once sought to arrest in return for a $10 million bounty.”God willing, this visit will be a new beginning for Syria and an opening to the world after years of isolation,” law student Boushra Abdel Bari said.”We hope that this visit… will facilitate the reconstruction of Syria with the United States and the rest of the world.”As Sharaa made his historic visit to Washington, the State Department announced a pause of US sanctions under the Caesar Act, pending their possible permanent lifting by Congress.The law imposed wide-ranging sanctions on investment in Syria in an effort to ensure accountability over abuses under Assad, banning the country from the global banking system.Historically, Syria has been in the orbit of first the Soviet Union then Russia, which was autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad’s main ally during more than 13 years of civil war.But since overthrowing Assad in December 2024, the interim Syrian president has made numerous overtures to the West and to wealthy Gulf monarchies, while being careful not to burn his bridges with Moscow.For Abdel Bari, Assad’s ally Russia “has brought us nothing but ruin and destruction.”Omar Nassar, a 36-year-old printer, also welcomed Syria’s move towards the Western camp.”Syria paid the price for aligning itself with the socialist camp in the past… and was isolated from its Arab and international environment,” he said. “We are very optimistic after this visit. We expect positive repercussions in the economic and diplomatic spheres.”- ‘New Middle East’ -Saddam Hajjar, who runs a coffee kiosk in the Syrian capital, also believed that “things are getting better”. “We hope to be part of the new Middle East in the future,” he said. “The Syrian people deserve a better life after making so many sacrifices.”Assad’s fall ended a civil war that lasted more than 13 years, which broke out after the government cracked down on a peaceful uprising in 2011.The war killed more than half a million people, displaced or forced millions of Syrians into exile, and brought the economy to its knees.Layal Kaddour, a 25-year-old NGO worker, thought the visit to Washington was “a bold political move” that broke years of isolation.”The possible repercussions are an easing of sanctions and the opening up of economic prospects,” she said.But she wondered if her country will now be “subject to international pressure that would influence independent political decision-making,” alluding to concerns about US pressure on Syria to make peace with Israel, which has long been an enemy.

Iraqis voted for a new parliament on Tuesday at a pivotal time for the country and the wider region, in an election that both Iran and the United States will be closely watching.Iraq, which has long been a fertile land for proxy wars, has only recently regained a sense of stability, as it tries to move past decades of war since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.But even now, the country of 46 million people suffers from poor infrastructure, failing public services, mismanagement and endemic corruption.Polling stations closed at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), with preliminary results expected within 24 hours of closing.Yet many have lost hope that elections can bring meaningful change to their daily lives and see the vote as a sham that only benefits political elites and regional powers.No new names have recently emerged, with the same Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish politicians remaining at the forefront.More than 21 million people were eligible to vote for the 329-seat parliament, but many may have boycotted the polls amid deep distrust in the country’s political class.The electoral commission has yet to announce the turnout.For Mohammed Mehdi, a public servant in his thirties, voting is a right and a means to achieve change.While he does not blame those who chose to boycott, he said after casting his vote in Baghdad that politicians have spent heavily to win votes, “proving my vote is valuable — so I will use it.”- Boycott -The ballot is marked by the absence of influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr who has urged his followers to boycott the vote, which might also contribute to low turnout. The mercurial Sadr accused those in power of being “corrupt” and unwilling to reform. A close associate quoted him as urging his followers to stay home and treat election day as a “family day”.In 2021, Sadr secured the largest bloc before withdrawing from parliament following a dispute with Shiite parties which culminated in deadly fighting in Baghdad.Over the years since US-led forces ousted Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, Iraq’s long-oppressed Shiite majority still dominates, with most parties retaining ties to neighbouring Iran.By convention in post-invasion Iraq, a Shiite Muslim holds the powerful post of prime minister and a Sunni that of parliament speaker, while the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who hopes for a second term, is likely to score a significant win.Sudani rose to power in 2022 with the backing of the Coordination Framework, a ruling alliance of Shiite parties and factions all linked to Iran.But with a single party or list unlikely to achieve an outright majority, he must win the support of whichever coalition can secure enough allies to become the largest bloc.Although they run separately, Shiite parties within the Coordination Framework are expected to reunite after elections and pick the next premier.Sudani has touted his success in keeping Iraq relatively unscathed by the turmoil engulfing the Middle East.- Delicate balance -The next prime minister will have to maintain the delicate balance between Iraq’s allies, Iran and the US, even more so now that the Middle East is undergoing seismic changes, with new alliances forming and old powers weakening.Even as its influence wanes, Iran hopes to preserve its power in Iraq — the only close ally that stayed out of Israel’s crosshairs after the heavy losses its other allies have incurred in Lebanon, Yemen and Gaza since 2023.Tehran has meanwhile focused on other interests in Iraq — challenging the US with powerful Tehran-backed armed groups, and keeping the Iraqi market open to products from its crippled economy.Washington, which holds much sway in Iraq and has forces deployed there, conversely hopes to cripple Iran’s influence, and has been pressuring Baghdad to disarm the pro-Iran groups.On the ground however, Iraqis appeared torn between their hopes for change and disillusionment with the process.”We have unemployment and people are tired, we need progress,” said Ali Abed, 57, after casting his vote in the northern city of Mosul.Others meanwhile chose to boycott.”We have never seen anything good come from these politicians,” said Ali al-Ikabi, a 25-year-old tuk-tuk driver.More than 7,740 candidates, nearly a third of them women and only 75 independents, are standing under an electoral law that many believe favours larger parties.Sunni parties are running separately, with the former speaker Mohammed al-Halbussi expected to do well.In the autonomous Kurdistan region, the rivalry between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan remains fierce.

When Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr gives an order, his supporters listen. On Tuesday, as many Iraqis lined up to cast their votes for a new parliament, that order was to skip the election entirely and spend the day with family instead.The effects of the influential preacher’s directive were on full display in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City, where residents said they were spending a pointedly normal day.Not far from a polling station, when asked what they were up to, a group of men exclaimed in unison: “We are boycotting on the orders of Sayyid”, a reference to the 52-year-old cleric, who has always shown a particular prowess for mobilising — or demobilising — loyalists.Sadr first announced the boycott months ago, and has since released several statements accusing the political class of corruption and resisting reforms.”Out of love and obedience, I am boycotting the election on Sayyid Moqtada Sadr’s orders,” said one of the men near the polling place, Hatem Kazem, 28, who closed his car accessories shop and took the day off.”We are boycotting to bring about change,” he added”We lack good hospitals or schools. We just want to be like other countries.”- ‘Family day’ -Sadr, whose photo is displayed on walls all across the district that bears his family’s name, retains a devoted following of millions among Iraq’s majority Shiite population.At his call, his supporters fill the streets, and disperse within minutes when he tells them to withdraw.In the days leading up to the vote, he issued almost daily messages addressed to supporters and rivals alike, such as: “May those already tested not be tested again,” and “God, do not make me one of the corrupt.” On Monday, a close associate quoted him as advising his supporters to only leave home on election day out of “absolute necessity”.”Let your day be a family day,” he told them.Many heeded the call and responded on social media, where videos circulated showing men cooking or cleaning the dishes.Taxi driver Dia Hassib, 45, said he was boycotting not only because Sadr said so, but also because there has been no improvement in the country, which suffers from poor infrastructure and failing public services.”The same poverty and no jobs,” he said, adding that Sadr’s “path is correct — we are boycotting because nothing is changing”.In 2021, Sadr’s bloc emerged from elections as the biggest parliamentary faction. But soon after, he withdrew from parliament over a dispute with rival Shiite parties that culminated in deadly fighting in Baghdad.- ‘If he says die, we die’ -Sadr, who once led a militia against American and Iraqi government forces, has made several reversals over the years, and he has announced on several occasions that he is withdrawing from politics.His family history has made him beloved among many Iraqis. He is the son of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadek Sadr, whom former dictator Saddam Hussein had assassinated in 1999.Despite opposing various governments and their backers, Sadr has always had allies at the highest levels of ministries and other institutions.To his followers, meanwhile, he is a champion of the fight against corruption.Abbas Ali, a 21-year-old tuk-tuk driver, said “our country is wealthy but corruption is rampant and young people can’t find jobs”.”I burned my voting card,” he added, saying he was answering Sadr’s call. “Whatever the Sayyid says, we do. If he says die, we die. If he says live, we live.”