Iraq finishes May 12 poll recount in 15 of 18 provinces

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq has finished manually recounting May 12 parliamentary election results at polling stations in 15 provinces, according to electoral officials.

In a Monday statement, electoral commission spokesman Laith Jabr said the recounting process had just been concluded in Iraq’s southern Najaf province.

So far, manual recounts have been conducted in 15 of Iraq’s 18 provinces, including Najaf, Karbala, Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, Dohuk, Basra, Maysan, Wasit, Dhi Qar, Muthanna, Diwaniyah and Saladin.

Electoral officials have yet to finish recounting ballots in the provinces of Diyala, Baghdad and Babil.

It remains unclear until now how exactly the recount will affect the initial poll results.

For the last two months, results of Iraq’s hard-fought May 12 parliamentary poll have remained the subject of bitter dispute amid widespread allegations of fraud.

Once the manual recount is completed and Iraq’s Federal Court approves the results, incoming members of parliament will hold a first session to elect a new assembly speaker and two deputies.

Within 30 days of the first parliamentary session, the assembly will elect -- by a two-thirds majority -- the country’s next president.

The president will then task the largest bloc in parliament with drawing up a new government, which must be referred back to parliament for approval.

Earlier this month, the electoral commission began manually recounting official results of the May 12 election.

According to those results, Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon coalition won 54 parliamentary seats, followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-led coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Victory Bloc (42 seats).