Iraqi Electoral Commission Announces Sadrist Movement Won Majority
The Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq announces that the Sadrist movement led the majority of parliament seats in the polls.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) for the Iraqi legislative elections announced the final results of the polls that took place on October 10.
The Commission reported that the Sadrist movement led by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr won 73 seats, winning the majority bloc in the parliament for the next four years.
A statement released by the commission stated that the Sadrist movement won 73 seats out of 329.
The al-Fateh Alliance which objected to the preliminary results claiming them to be a "scam", won 17 seats.
Commission chairman Jalil Adnan during a press conference announcing the results, said there is a change in a seat in five governorates, compared to the preliminary results announced on the 8th of November.
Adnan confirmed that the judiciary has completed all appeals according to the official Iraqi News Agency, which published the lists of names of winning seats.
The head of the Iraqi commission added that they are committed to dealing with election results according to the law.
He noted that the total number of voters surpassed 22 million.
Two days ago, the Secretary-General of the Asaib Ahl-al-Haq movement, Qais Khazali said that Iraq's current problems are caused by the elections and the way they were conducted.
Khazali considered that the results of the Iraqi elections are being challenged by all parties and the broader political spectrum, noting that 6200 electoral boxes were not closed on time.
The IHEC had earlier completed all manual counting and recounting, the latest round of which was in the Nineveh governorate, based on the decision of the Elections Judicial Authority, in the presence of representatives of the contesting candidates, international observers, and authorized media personnel.
The head of the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Faiq Zaidan, confirmed that "election fraud has not yet been proven by any evidence that is considered legal."
Several Iraqi regions witnessed a number of demonstrations as protesters took to the streets in several provinces, most notably Babel, Diyala, Basra, and Baghdad.