Final results of Iraq’s provincial council elections announced

By Ibrahim Al-Khazen

CAIRO (AA) - Four Iraqi coalitions got the largest number of seats in provincial polls earlier this month, according to national election officials.

The Independent High Electoral Commission announced late Thursday the final results of the provincial council elections, the first ones held in a decade, official Iraqi news agency INA reported.

The Nabni coalition, led by Hadi Al-Amiri, won 43 out of 275 seats, followed by the State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, with 35, the National State Forces coalition, led by Ammar al-Hakim, with 24, and the National Progress coalition, led by former parliament speaker Mohammed Al-Halbousi, with 21.

The elections were boycotted by the Sadrist Shiite opposition movement.

The commission said there were no complaints affecting the election results, adding that the final results have a window of appeal.

Elections took place in 15 out of 18 governorates, excluding three in Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government area.

Over 5,900 candidates from various parties and alliances competed to win 275 posts. Over 6 million out of 16 million voters took in the local elections.

The governorate councils in Iraq serve as the legislative and supervisory authority in each province.

These elected councils have the right to issue local legislation, allowing them to manage their affairs according to the principle of administrative decentralization, without conflicting with the Constitution and federal laws falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the authorities.

The electoral term for the governorate councils is 4 years.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara