Iraq announces final results of October parliamentary elections Election News

The final election results confirm the victory of Muqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Shiite leader, whose political bloc won a total of 73 of the 329 seats in the Sadrist Movement.

Baghdad, Iraq – The political bloc led by Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr was confirmed as the winner of the October parliamentary elections.

The Iraqi Independent Electoral Commission gave its final results on Tuesday after weeks of reviewing the results increase rejection from the losing parties.

Five seats were changed in the capital as a result of the appeals and counting process; Baghdad, Nineveh, Erbil, Kirkuk and Basra.

“We are committed to addressing the election results in accordance with the law and with full integrity and impartiality,” Jalil Adnan Khalaf, chairman of the Electoral Commission, said at a press conference.

The election results confirmed the victory of al-Sadr, whose political bloc, the Sadrist Movement, won 73 of the 329 seats in parliament by a prominent Shiite church.

The Al-Fatah alliance, whose main components are militias affiliated with Iran-backed People’s Mobilization Forces, suffered a huge loss and was stripped of 17 seats, with no change from initial results, despite repeated calls to count the alleged “fraud”.

Mohammed al-Halbousi, the current Speaker of the Sunni parliament, Mohammed al-Halbousi, is headed by the Taqadum or Progressive Party, which has 37 seats. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s rule of law party has lost two seats and will hold 33 seats in parliament.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won 31 seats, while the Kurdistan National Union (PUK) won 18 seats.

The latest count put voter turnout at 44 percent, the lowest since the U.S.-led invasion overthrew Saddam Hussein and established a new political system in 2003.

“Now Fatah will have to decide whether to accept the results and negotiate to form a government or increase their rejection,” wrote Sajad Jiyad Century Foundation member.

“Sadr also has to decide whether to continue a majority government to see the danger of failure and the formation of a strong enemy bloc, or to accept the coalition according to the status quo.

“A new government or a PM is still months away,” he added.