[Al Jazeera] For weeks, protesters in Baghdad and a host of southern Iraqi cities have been relentlessly taking to the streets to demand the departure of the country's ruling elite and an overhaul of the political system that was established in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion.
Driven by anger over official corruption, high unemployment and poor public services, the protesters have dismissed government pledges to enact limited economic reforms, pressing instead for the removal of the entire political class.
The leaderless protests have been met with extreme violence, with more than 300 people killed by security forces since the demonstrations began on October 1.
Amid the mounting calls for political change, the United States, a main ally of the Iraqi government, urged on Sunday the country's authorities to halt the violence against protesters "and fulfil President [Barham] Salih's promise to pass electoral reform and hold early elections".
But on Monday, protesters in Baghdad insisted that a snap poll was not the solution to the country's problems.
"If they agree to hold early elections, the same faces will return ... They'll just be reshuffled," Thawrah al-Ezzawi told Al Jazeera from Baghdad's Tahrir Square, the hub of the protest movement in the Iraqi capital.
Al-Ezzawi said early elections "would not work" for the Iraqi people who are still waiting on "real change".
"It's like a game of chess," the 49-year old public employee, said, adding that the people would end up paying the price.
"The system needs to change completely, and the people in power need to be held accountable ... They can't think that they can simply leave, that's not enough," she said. "Iraqi families are living under the poverty line in a country that has so much to offer." 
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