Iraq announces full results of parliamentary elections

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD (AA) – Iraq’s election commission has announced the full results of last weekend’s parliamentary elections, with Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance dominating the polls.

The commission said al-Sadr’s party won 73 seats in the 329-member parliament, followed by Taqaddum (progress) bloc of Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi with 37 seats.

The State of Law bloc led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came third with 34 seats in parliament, followed by the Kurdistan Democratic Party with 32 seats, the results showed.

According to the results, the Azem Alliance of Iraqi millionaire Khamis Khanjar won 12 seats, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan got 16 seats, the Al-Fatah Coalition won 17 seats, the Imtidad Movement and the New Generation Movement got 9 seats each, while independents won 40 seats.

The results are yet to be confirmed by Iraq’s Federal Court.

The election commission said turnout in the Oct. 10 vote reached 43%.

The Al-Fatah Coalition, backed by Iran, has already announced its rejection of the vote results.

The polls saw 3,249 candidates representing 21 coalitions and 109 parties vying for seats in the assembly.

The elections were originally scheduled for 2022, but political parties decided to hold early elections following mass protests that erupted in 2019 against deep-seated corruption and poor governance.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara