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Iraq won't exploit the poor during election, insists PM

June 16, 2021 at 10:12 am

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in Ankara, Turkey on December 17, 2020. [Ali Balıkçı – Anadolu Agency]

Iraq strongly rejects the “exploitation of the poor and their salaries” in the elections which are due to be held on 10 October, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi said yesterday.

“This is a professional government,” Al-Kadhimi told his cabinet, warning his minister against “leveraging authority for electoral purposes.”

He pointed out that there were a number of complaints about “some electoral procedures at the Social Affairs Ministry at the expense of the livelihood of the poor,” stressing that these would be “investigated.”

“We do not accept that the poor, their strength and their salaries turn into a rich material to exploit in the elections,” the prime minister reiterated.

Reports have emerged that some ministries have used welfare payments to cover the costs of electoral expenses.

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