Iraq official fears unrest if poll results are annulled

By Amir al-Saadi

BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraq’s official electoral commission has warned of potential civil unrest in the event that results of May 12 parliamentary polls are overturned.

In a Tuesday televised interview, commission head Riyad al-Badran said: “Investigations conducted by the commission -- in the presence of UN experts -- have successfully matched the names of registered voters to ballots cast”.

Al-Badran went on to warn that non-compliance with the official poll results could have dire political repercussions.

On Monday, Iraq’s parliament abruptly decided to annul the expatriate vote and recount about 10 percent of all votes cast.

Poll results from major displacement camps in the Anbar, Saladin and Diyala provinces were also canceled.

Iraq’s May 12 election was the country’s first parliamentary poll since 2014.

According to official results, Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon coalition won 54 parliamentary seats, followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-linked coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's Victory bloc (42 seats).

The Erbil-based Kurdistan Democratic Party, for its part, picked up 25 seats in the national assembly.

Final results were announced a full week after the polling. Unofficial results had been announced days earlier, but widespread fraud allegations had reportedly delayed a final vote count.