Nasiriyah, in Iraq's poor southern heartland, has been at the epicentre of protests since the revolution of October 2019. Recent parliamentary elections, held nationwide on October 10, are unlikely to answer the demands of the city’s demonstrators who are still seeking justice for the bloody crackdown on their movement.
In October 2019, thousands took to the streets across Baghdad and southern Iraq to march against deep-seated corruption, poor governance, and foreign interferences. The protest movement forced out in May 2020 the then-Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and triggered new elections which took place on October 10.
Final results are yet to be announced, and some militant groups have demanded a recount and threatened to reject the outcome of the elections. Yet, it is close to certain that the next government will be largely formulated by populist Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr who is set to have the largest bloc in parliament with more than 70 seats.
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