Independent politician Abbas al-Maliki said on Tuesday that Iraqi politics is still driven by backroom deals and vote trading, where politicians support each other in exchange for favors.
Speaking to dinaropinions.com, al-Maliki said the “you vote for me, and I’ll vote for you” approach has been around since 2003. He explained that this method has been used again and again when forming governments and choosing candidates for key positions after every parliamentary election.
He said that many political disputes are not resolved through clear rules or merit, but through agreements between political parties. These deals allow one bloc to back a certain candidate in return for support for its own nominees in other positions.
Al-Maliki explained that this practice does not stop at choosing presidents or senior officials. It also happens at the local government level and inside parliament, where some laws only pass because of political bargaining rather than public interest.
He added that this tradition has become deeply rooted in the political system and carries both negative and positive effects. While it can help settle disputes and move decisions forward, it often means that deals—not qualifications or transparency—decide who gets power and which laws are passed.
