BAGHDAD, May 12, 2018 (News Wires) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the reopening of the nation's airspace and resumption of air traffic on Saturday, state television reported. The shutdown had come into effect at midnight on Friday as a security measure ahead of the voting which started on Saturday morning. There was no significant incident reported by midday. Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, who overran a third of Iraq in 2014, had threatened attacks ahead of the elections, the first since the defeat of the militants last year. Low turnout and voting irregularities marked the initial hours of voting Saturday in Iraq's first elections. Voting began early Saturday morning in a contest that has no clear front-runner after weeks of official campaigning. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is facing stiff competition from political parties with closer ties to Iran. After hours of reports of low turnout in Baghdad, al-Abadi partially lifted a security curfew banning most civilian vehicles from the streets of the Iraqi capital in an effort to improve turnout. Iraq's most senior Shi'ite cleric spoke out on the issue of voter participation Saturday afternoon, encouraging Iraqis to vote "to prevent the arrival of a corrupt parliament." "The lack of participation will give the opportunity for others to reach parliament and they will be very far from the aspirations of the people," said Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, the representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on local Iraqi television from Karbala. Sistani has repeatedly encouraged Iraqis to vote into power Saturday a new political class to combat corruption. Iraqis expressed pride at the prospect of voting for the fourth time since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein, but also said they had scant hope that the election would stabilise a country beset by conflicts, economic hardship and corruption. The vote's victors will have to contend with fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Iran, a move Iraqis fear could turn their country into a theatre of conflict between Washington and Tehran. Abadi carefully managed Iraq's alliance with both countries. The United States provided military support to Iraq's army to defeat Islamic State, while Iran backed Shi'ite militias that fought on the same side. But now that the campaign is over, Abadi faces political threats from two main challengers: his predecessor Nuri al-Maliki, and the leader of the main Shi'ite paramilitary group, Hadi al-Amiri, both of whom are closer than he is to Iran. The three main ethnic and religious groups — the majority Shi'ite Arabs and minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds — have been at odds for decades, and sectarian divisions remain deep. Iran has wide sway in Iraq as the primary Shi'ite power in the region. The United States, which invaded Iraq in 2003 to topple Saddam, occupied it until 2011 and sent troops back to help fight Islamic State in 2014, also has deep influence. Iran's influence has caused resentment among Sunnis as well as some Shi'ites, who have grown tired of religious leaders, parties and militias and want technocrats to rule the country. Abadi is considered the frontrunner by analysts, but victory is far from certain. A British-educated engineer without a powerful political machine of his own when he took office, he solidified his standing with the victory over Islamic State. In office he reached out to minority Sunnis, although he alienated Kurds after crushing their bid for independence. But he has failed to improve the limping economy, and cannot rely solely on votes from his fellow Shi'ites. Even if Abadi's Victory Alliance list wins the most seats, he still must negotiate a coalition government, which must be formed within 90 days of the election. Many Iraqis are disillusioned with war heroes and politicians who have failed to restore state institutions and provide badly needed health and education services. "We need neither tanks nor jets. We need only the ballot paper through which we can rectify the political process which was aborted by those who governed Iraq," said labourer Khalid al-Shami, 50, at a polling station in Baghdad. Maliki is seeking a comeback, casting himself as a Shi'ite champion after being sidelined in the wake of the Islamic State advance. Opponents say his sectarian policies during eight years in power created the atmosphere that enabled Islamic State to gain sympathy among Sunnis as it swept across Iraq in 2014.
