President Salih calls on parties to remain peaceful

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi President Barham Salih on Friday called on all political parties in Iraq to remain calm and peaceful after preliminary election results riled up Iran-backed groups that threatened protests after they lost seats.

“We call on all parties to adopt a responsible national stance that takes into account the supreme interest of the country, to remain calm, to let the language of reason prevail, and to avoid any escalation that might affect societal peace and security,” read a joint statement from Salih and the head of the Supreme Judicial Council Fayaq Zidan. 

Iranian-backed parties have emerged as one of the major losers in the October 10 parliamentary election, according to preliminary results. The parties have issued statements rejecting the results, alleging fraud, and threatening protests. 

“In the event of refusal to manually count all polling centers, we will call our masses for a peaceful sit-in,” read a Thursday statement from the Huquq Movement, which is connected to the Kataib Hezbollah militia. It won an estimated two seats.

Abu Ali al-Askari, a spokesperson for Kataib Hezbollah, earlier this week called the election the “biggest fraud and scam against the Iraqi people in recent history.”

“We will stand up with firmness and determination to restore things to the right place. We will not allow anyone to persecute or attempt to humiliate the sons of Iraq,” he said in a statement published on Telegram channels affiliated with militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic).

The electoral commission is investigating 356 complaints.

Salih and Zidan said that all complaints will be dealt with legally. “Regarding the objections based on the conduct of the electoral process, we affirm that they are acceptable within the legal context, and that dealing with them is in accordance with the constitution and the law,” read their statement.

The elections were closely monitored by the United Nations and the European Union and despite record-low turnout, the vote is widely considered the cleanest Iraq has had. However, Iran-backed forces are accusing the UN of playing a role in alleged fraud.

“We are close to taking to the street and declaring our rejection and objection to the commission, which is trying to drag us into a Shiite-Shiite fight under the management of the UN envoy, Plasschaert,” read a statement carried on PMF Telegram channels, referring to head of the UN mission in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. 

“We have information that undeniably proves fraud in the elections,” Asaib Ahl al-Haq leader Qais Khazali tweeted on Thursday.

The election was held early in response to 2019 protests against corruption and government ineptitude. Protesters also condemned Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs and preliminary results show some of the strongest Iran-backed parties had their seats in the parliament slashed. 

The Fatih Alliance, led by Hadi al-Amiri of the Badr Organization and supported by a range of pro-Iran militia groups, was the second largest bloc in the outgoing parliament. It won just 17 seats in this election, according to preliminary results. 

“The Resistance cannot tolerate malicious projects that seek to integrate or abolish the PMF, which only serve the American occupation,” a group of Iraqi militias opposed to US presence in Iraq and calling themselves the Iraqi Resistance, said in a statement on Tuesday.

In the 2018 election, former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s Victory Alliance came in third with 42 seats. This year, he joined forces with Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim. They went from a combined 61 seats in the outgoing parliament to only three as the National State Forces Alliance.

This was a major defeat for Abadi who during his time as prime minister oversaw the territorial defeat of the Islamic State group (ISIS) and led the Iraqi army and PMF into Kirkuk and disputed territories after the Kurdistan independence referendum.

Based on the preliminary results, the largest bloc in parliament is formed by Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr who on Monday claimed victory and, striking a nationalist tone, warned foreign countries not to interfere in the process of forming the government.

The United States and Iran compete for strategic influence in Iraq. For years Sadr has called on Western powers to leave the country. He has also now turned his eye towards Iranian-backed militias opposed to Western and especially American presence in the country.

“From now on, all arms should be in the hands of the state, and its use outside of that should be forbidden, even for those who call themselves the resistance,” he said, referring to the militias.

Jawad al-Talibawi, a spokesperson for Asaib Ahl al-Haq, responded to Sadr on Thursday, saying “Our weapon is what protected the state, and it is ready to defend its continuity, and to confront projects that want to end its mobilization, stop its resistance, or sell Kirkuk, the Nineveh Plains, Tal Afar and Sinjar to those who previously occupied and betrayed them,” referring to Kurdish forces and parties in the disputed areas claimed by both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and federal Iraqi government. Kurdish parties appear to have increased their seats in these disputed areas.