The Iraqi Candidate
Abdulrahman Dheyab, an Iraqi living in London, returns to Iraq to stand in the elections.
Filmmaker: Paul Eedle
Abdulrahman Dheyab left his young wife, newborn son and a comfortable life in London to risk his life standing as a parliamentary candidate in Iraq’s elections.
His goal is to create a new politics in Iraq, after decades of dictatorship, a US occupation, sectarian civil war and now an out-of-touch political class. Abdulrahman is determined to change things for the better.
His belief in a politics of service to the community is modelled, after four years spent living in the UK, on the British Conservative Party.
The Iraqi Candidate follows him in the build up to the elections of March 7, 2010.
Once a junior officer in Saddam’s army, Abdulrahman once plotted against the dictator.
The son of a respected tribal mediator and the son-in-law of a politician who persuaded the tribes of Western Iraq to defy al-Qaeda, he still has many enemies.
Despite the significant personal danger, however, he is determined to compete in the elections – lobbying for support among clan leaders and canvassing local militias.
His campaign will be politics at its most basic; he is standing on a platform of new jobs and infrastructure for the villagers with whom he grew up.
However, he soon discovers that the cut and thrust of Iraqi politics is not just dirtier than he expected – it is also far more dangerous.
The Iraqi Candidate aired from Sunday, July 18, 2010.