In the past months, Iraq has been under internal flames, as the government has been scrambling to run its country. There was an inconclusive election in May earlier this year, and ever since the election, there has been gridlock and protests throughout the country. Parliament had met at the beginning of September in order to answer some of their citizens’ issues, such as poor treatment of water. This was only a minor step in fixing their nation that is under constant threat from the citizens themselves.
In this past week however, Iraq’s parliament elected a new president, Barham Salih. Barham Salih is a Kurd, and won 219 votes of the 329 lawmakers who voted for him. This new action within the government, brings promising signs to the hard times that have been faced within Iraq this year. I see this progression within the Iraqi government, as a step towards peace and posterity once again in this country. With it being months of protests with inconclusive ideas and meetings, this election brings hope to a country that is in desperate need of internal reconstruction.
Traditionally within Iraq’s government, the prime minister is a Shi’ite Arab, the speaker of parliament is a Sunni Arab, and the president a Kurd. This balance of powers has brought varied views and backgrounds to the government, allowing for each ethnicity to be advocated for by their own representative. Having all three major ethnic groups that are in Iraq’s borders be in charge of three separate forms of government is a very heart warming thing, because this proves that these three very different ethnicities can work together in order to create peace between each group. Throughout history, there has been constant conflicts between ethnicities and religions, but understanding that Iraq has given power to all three of their ethnic groups, can help their nation move past a difficult era.