Iraq: Shia militia boycotts efforts to form government

Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq, a pro-Iran Shia militia, announced on Tuesday its boycott of efforts to form coalition government in the country after the High Federal Court ratified results of the October elections, Anadolu reported.

In a statement, Hezbollah said: “The sides which confiscated the rights of the Iraqi people were backed by the evil Zio-American-Saudi coalition in order to advance their agenda.”

The statement also claimed that “Iraq’s election commission was subject to the worst kind of abuse and Iraq’s judicial authority was subject to coercion, threats and pressure by these groups.”

According to the statement, the US ambassador and the UN representative to Iraq had exerted pressure on the Iraqi authorities and Iraqi court.

READ: Iraq’s Al-Fateh alliance accepts court’s decision on election results

“This led to the Federal Court of Iraq to surrender to them and reject the calls for cancelling the elections, despite evidence and objections provided by the protesting coalitions,” the statement said.

Hezbollah Brigades is part of a Shia coalition that includes the State of Law party and others. However, it is the only one that has so far declared its boycott of the efforts to form a new government.

“The objections we lodged with the Federal Court were firm, logical and acceptable and they would be enough to annul the results of the election, if they were submitted to courts in any country where democracy is respected,” the statement read.

Iraq’s Supreme Court on Monday ratified the parliamentary election results after it had rejected earlier appeals by Iran-backed Shia factions against the results.

The ratification, following a delay of more than two months, clears the way for a new parliament to hold its inaugural session within two weeks, under the Iraqi law.

READ: Iran’s war games in Gulf were warning to Israel, say top Iranian commanders