Iraq: Pro-Iran forces slam preliminary legislative elections results as ‘scam’

Election commission officials begin to count ballots at a polling station after the Iraqi early general elections end in Baghdad, Iraq on 10 October 2021. [Ayman Yaqoob – Anadolu Agency]

Shia parties loyal to Iran yesterday denounced the results of the Iraqi legislative elections, describing them as “manipulation” and a “scam”.

The Fateh Alliance, which represents the powerful Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), recorded a significant decline in the poll results, despite remaining an inevitable player in the Iraqi political scene.

“We reject the announced results and we will take all available measures to prevent voter manipulation,” the coordinating framework of Shia forces, including the Fateh Alliance and the coalition of former Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, said in a statement.

“What happened in the elections represents the biggest fraud in modern history,” said Abu Ali Al-Askari, a spokesman for the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades, one of the most influential popular mobilisation factions.

The Sadrist movement, led by Shia cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, announced that it was ahead in the results with more than 70 seats out of the 329 available.

The polls saw a low turnout of only 41 per cent, according to the election commission, the lowest since 2005.

READ: Shia cleric Sadr issues warnings against interference in forming Iraq government

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