AMN/ WEB DESK
Iraq closed its airspace today as voters headed to the polls to elect a parliament. The vote was scheduled to be held next year but was brought forward in response to a popular uprising in the capital Baghdad and southern provinces in late 2019.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest endemic corruption, poor services and rising unemployment. Although authorities gave in and called the early elections, the death toll and the heavy-handed crackdown prompted many young activists and demonstrators who took part in the protests to later call for a boycott of the polls.