Sadr's Sayirun Coalition, which is in alliance with the Communist Party of Iraq, and the Fath List, headed by Hadi al-Amiri both topped Abadi's Nasr Coalition in Baghdad, according to preliminary results reported by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) early Monday.
The IHEC announced the results for 10 provinces, mainly in the Shiite south and the Sunni's Anbar. Voting irregularities, complaints, and requests for manual ballot recounts in some northern and Kurdish provinces have delayed their releases.
Sadr's preliminary success in Iraq's capital was widely celebrated by his supporters through the night.
He published photos visiting the family shrine of Grand Ayatollah al-Sayyid Muhammed al-Sadr after the preliminary election results were announced.
"We call on all parties’ blocs not to interfere with the work of the election commission and we call on our brothers in the commission to work with transparency and integrity, respect the votes of the voters, and accelerate the issuance of preliminary and final results so as to avoid political pressures by political parties and others,” tweeted Sadr on Sunday prior to the announcement of the results.
He encouraged everyone to file complaints in a legal and formal way, “staying away from escalation."
His campaign appealed to Iraq's poor and disenfranchised. The Shiite cleric held fiery weekly rallies for years prior to the election on Fridays in the capital, rallying support for his cause.
Amiri rose to prominence as head of the Iranian-backed Badr Organization. The militias fought in Hashd al-Shaabi during the ISIS conflict, as a part of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMUs). Fatih is in alliance with other Hashd-affiliated groups like Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq — directly funded by the IRGC.
Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis is the deputy commander of Hashd and its strongman. Both fought alongside Iranian troops during the Iran-Iraq war.
Abadi's control of some of these groups was questioned, despite him being the commander-in-chief of all of Iraq's armed forces.
Maliki's State of Law Coalition did not fare as well in the southern provinces as Nasr and Fath, but Maliki has a strong influence over the current parliament, heads the Dawa Party, and is the country's previous prime minister.
Maliki and Sadr do not have good relations, which predate the ISIS conflict.
Many Sunni Arabs, the country's second-largest ethno-sectarian group, remain displaced and politically fragmented.
The IHEC has not stated when results from the northern and Kurdish provinces will be announced.
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Preliminary results: What we know so far
