Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem joins live from Baghdad. He says Iraq’s parliamentary elections are under close scrutiny, with more than 20 million eligible voters but widespread disillusionment and calls for boycotts.

Hashem explains the stakes: choosing the next prime minister, tackling corruption, boosting jobs, and shaping Iraq’s foreign policy amid US-Iran tensions. ‘Some see voting as a chance for change, others see it as hopeless,’ he adds.

Meanwhile, Haitham Numan, a public opinion analyst and researcher at the institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, joins Al Jazeera’s live.