Iraq is entering what promises to be a highly politically charged summer season where election campaigning will ramp up just as summer temperatures soar, pushing the country’s inadequate electricity infrastructure over the edge. Such a toxic mix of blackouts, sweltering heat and electioneering has previously resulted in mass political protests across the country.
The dynamic is nothing new, but successive government’s have proven unable to fix Iraq’s broken power system. Iraq’s increasing dependence on imports from Iran of both gas and electricity to close the demand gap has also proven a contentious matter with the US. The new Biden administration is liable to take a less hawkish stance than the Trump administration, but Iraq is still being urged to end this dependence. (CONTINUED - 982 WORDS)
