SADR CITY: Iraqi voters in the Sadr City district of the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday cast their ballots in the sixth national election since the US-led invasion in 2003. 

The impoverished and predominantly Shiite neighbourhood became a bastion of support for the family of powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr after the invasion.

Groups drawn from Shiite factions dominate the electoral landscape, but they are divided, particularly over the influence of neighbouring Iran, a Shiite powerhouse.

A tight race is expected between al-Sadr's bloc, the biggest winner in the 2018 vote, and the Fatah Alliance, led by paramilitary leader Hadi al-Ameri, which came in second.

The vote is being held six months before schedule, in line with a promise made by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi when he assumed office in 2020.

Al-Kadhimi is seeking to appease anti-government protesters who rose up in October 2019 in Baghdad and Iraq’s south.

It's the first time a vote is taking place because of demands by Iraqi protesters on the streets.

The vote is also taking place under a new election law that divides Iraq into smaller constituencies - a demand of the activists - and allows for more independent candidates.

Candidates have been trying to convince a reluctant electorate to vote, fearing a repeat of the 2018 elections which saw a record low turnout.

In another first, Iraq is introducing biometric cards for voters.

To prevent abuse of electronic voter cards, they will be disabled for 72 hours after each person votes, to avoid double voting.

But despite all these measures, claims of vote buying, intimidation and manipulation have persisted.

The elections come with enormous challenges: the economy has been battered by years of conflict, endemic corruption and more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.

State institutions are failing and the country’s infrastructure is crumbling.

Powerful paramilitary groups increasingly threaten the authority of the state, and hundreds of thousands of people are still displaced from the years of war.

Few Iraqis expect the vote to lead to meaningful change in their day-to-day lives.

But the elections will shape the direction of Iraq’s foreign policy at a key time in the Middle East, including as Iraq is mediating between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia.