The Iraqi media women and the Electoral Commission announced the results of the poll regarding women’s nomination for the elections and the results reflect a social awareness of the importance of women participation in the elections and the regression of Baghdad and the progression of Basra in civic affairs.

Baghdad: IWJF

The Iraqi Women Journalists Forum organized in cooperation with the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) a press conference on Sunday, April 8, 2018, on the results of a survey of male/female voters regarding the election of women candidates and the factors influencing women candidates gaining a seat in the parliament, the press conference held with the attendance of Mutamad Al-Musawi the council member of the IHEC and the chief of the Gender team, also the Director General of the NGO Directorate Dr. Mohammad Al -Tamimi, in addition to a group of parliamentarians and a group of interested members from organizations, academics and media.

The conference that was presented by the Journalist Mohammad Ismail included displaying the results of the survey by the IWJF coordinator Miss Israa Tariq, she explained that the survey was conducted by a group of researchers and specialists for more than nine months, included 21 questions distributed over 610 respondents in six governorates, Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk, Diyala, Dhi Qar and Anbar. The most significant results were:

57% expressed their willingness to participate in the upcoming elections.

55% prefer men’s candidacy.

56% implied that women financial-independence play a big part in women candidacy.

social media are the best source of women electoral enlighten.

32% women have a bigger chance of winning in the elections when they come from civil society background, while 23% said that women with a career position have a better chance and 19% voted for attractive women.

compared to 26% said that women related to a politician have a big chance.

55% agree that the man runs the election campaign for his wife or sister or His mother or daughter.

56% addressed that civil communities are more supportive of women candidates.

:IWJF Chairwomen Dr. Nbras Al-Mamory pointed out that the analysis of the survey after linking variables demonstrated the following

 .There is a social awareness in the survey sample of the importance of their participation in the elections_

 The prevalence of tribal concepts in voting process, and the survey sample strongly believed that the clerics, with the religious  authorities they represent do not favor the victory of women in the elections, except a small proportion, which is 6%

– The level of education affects the electoral behavior, the weaker the education of the voter the more it provides a stronger base in the selection of the candidate on a tribal and religious basis.

 Two-thirds of the respondents confirmed that civil society organizations and unions must support women candidates in the elections with the same level of support they offer for men candidates, with a third of the female respondents demanding a larger role for the organizations.

– Media did not keep pace with women’s issues, as its level did not exceed the average, but even came close to the weak, and this reflects the negative role of media in dealing with women issues

– Preference of the objective aspect in the analysis of selection, where 55% of the respondents preferred the scientific and administrative efficiency of women candidates for other qualifications

– Despite all the notes recorded by the observers on the performance of women in parliament, but the poll registered the percentage of 72% that their performance was acceptable, these results came due to the superiority of a group of parliament women by advancing the interrogation platforms.

– The answer of the respondents according to governorates reflected degrading the city of Baghdad, in civil and cultural aspects, and the superiority of tribal nature in most of the surveyed governorates, the results also reflected the progress of Basra in the cultural and civil aspects. This gives the impression that the tendency to change reality is greater in the society of Basra.

After presenting the results and analyzing the poll, the member of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Mutamad Al-Musawi expressed his thanks and appreciation for the efforts exerted by the IWJF represented by its Chairwomen Dr. Nbras Al-Mamory and the working team which exceeded 25 women and men.

He pointed out that the Commission and specifically the Gender team will adopt the results of the survey and make it a road map, by adopting the poll’s recommendations, such as the training of candidates for media appearance, impose disciplinary action against anyone who damage the image of candidates during the election campaign, cooperating with relevant authorities for the purpose of enlighten the society to support women candidates, Mr Al-Musawi ended with clarifying the procedures of the IHEC in particular with regard to counting devices and handling data for the voters and candidates.

Dr. Mohammad Al -Tamimi, Director General of the NGO Directorate commented on the survey and it’s important results. He also pointed to the role played by IWJF in terms of conducting studies and media advocacy, he also insisted on his full support for the survey and its outcomes.

The press conference ended with the reading of the final recommendations of the poll by the IWJF member, Mrs. Hatham Yousef, and the legal adviser Dr Boushra Al-Obaidi.

The poll was subjected to a measure of scale reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) to measure the stability of the estimates obtained from the survey, the rate of alpha factor was 71%, which is good to measure the sincerity and stability of the results of the survey.

This activity comes within the campaign of the IWJF to support women in reaching the decision-making centers, the activity came in partnership with the National Endowment for Democracy