125 injured in Baghdad as pro-Iran protesters reject election result: Health Ministry

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hundreds of protesters affiliated to the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) took to the streets in Iraq's capital on Friday, rejecting the outcome of the October 10 parliamentary elections and storming Baghdad’s Green Zone, which includes government offices and the US embassy building. 

The Iraqi health ministry said that 125 people were injured in Friday’s protests: 27 protesters and 98 members of the security forces. “No injury was due to live ammunition and no deaths have been reported,” they announced this evening.

Protesters held slogans against the Iraqi government and the electoral commission, claiming that the vote was rigged and rejecting last month’s results. “We will not allow you to steal our votes,” read a placard with a portrait of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and a cross on his face. 

Muqtada al-Sadr, Shiite cleric and leader of the top-performing Sadrist Movement which gained over 70 seats in October’s election, called on protesters to reject violence and warned that the reputation of Hashd “should not be tarnished” by resorting to physical protest.

“Peaceful demonstrations should not be turned into demonstrations of violence and belittle the state, and the state should not use violence against peaceful protesters,” he said in a statement posted on Friday.

The preliminary results of the election were released days after the vote, with the Hashd-affiliated political parties performing poorly. Most notably, the Fatih Alliance has emerged as one of the major losers in the parliamentary election, seeing its parliamentary seats reduced by two thirds.

Previously, the parties issued statements rejecting the results, alleging fraud, and threatening protests.

In a statement seen by Rudaw on Friday, Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Fatih Alliance, condemned “in the strongest terms … the hideous state of repression with which the government authorities deal with peaceful protesters'', referring to the response of security forces in Baghdad.

Pro-Hashd protesters also demonstrated against the outcome of Iraq’s election last month, days after the results were announced.

The alliance gained 15 of 329 seats in this election, compared to the 48 it won in 2018.  

Kadhimi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, ordered the launch of a “comprehensive investigation” into the “circumstances of Friday’s events in various areas in the vicinity of Green Zone,” state media have reported.

The prime minister has called on the political parties to “calm down and resort to dialogue.” 

In a tweet, Nouri al-Maliki, former prime minister and leader of the State of Law, called on protesters to stay away from violence, saying they should instead “follow the legal contexts when protesting and demanding transparency in the elections, avoiding clashes with the security forces.”

Maliki also said that he supports their demands, and has called on the security forces to protect the demonstrators and not use force against them.

In a statement on Twitter, Qais al-Khazali, the secretary-general of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of the groups affiliated to Hashd, condemned the “security forces’ use of live ammunition against the peaceful protesters,” adding that the perpetrators should be held accountable.

He also called on protesters to “show restraint.”

The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) has called on all sides to exercise maximum restraint, for the right to peaceful protest to be respected, and for the demonstrations to remain peaceful. Commenting on Friday, the mission said it "regrets the escalation of violence and the ensuing injuries in Baghdad."

Earlier this week, Iraq’s electoral body invited further submissions of evidence of alleged electoral fraud, as state media reported most appeals were so far found to be groundless.

Updated 11pm