Changes to preliminary election results after manual count

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s electoral commission late on Saturday announced the final preliminary results in the parliamentary election following the manual count of polling stations that were not electrically counted due to technical issues. Parties have the option to file complaints about the updated results. 

The manual count resulted in some changes, with some parties and blocs increasing their seats by a few spots at the expense of others in the 329-seat legislature.

The results across the country, based on a Rudaw tally of vote data released by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), are as follows:

Sadrist bloc - 72
Taqadum - 37
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) - 33
State of Law Coalition - 33
Kurdistan Coalition - 16
Fatih Alliance - 15
Azm Alliance - 13
New Generation - 9
Emtidad Movement - 9
Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) - 4
National State Forces Alliance - 4
Kurdistan Justice Group - 1
Independents - 35
Others - 39
Minority quotas - 9

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) gained a seat in Duhok, increasing their total from 32 to 33, and taking a seat from the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU).

The leading Sadrist bloc lost three seats, decreasing their total from 75 to 72. The National State Forces Alliance between former prime minister Haider al-Abadi and Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim also lost two of its seats.

IHEC started a manual count of over 8,000 polling stations on Tuesday after the partial preliminary results handed out unexpected victories and devastating blows to political parties and blocs.  

The commission on Friday said that they are investigating 356 complaints and will announce final election results after all complaints have been resolved.

Several parties have alleged fraud and threatened protests, pushing President Barham Salih and head of the Supreme Judicial Council Fayaq Zidan to issue a statement calling for calm. 

Once the results are ratified by the Supreme Court, a process of forming the government will take motion, as dictated by the constitution. Within 15 days of the ratification of the results, the president will call for a parliamentary meeting chaired by its eldest member to elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president by a two-thirds majority.

The president will then task the largest bloc in the parliament with forming the government, naming a prime minister within 15 days of the election of the president. The prime minister-elect then has 30 days to name a cabinet.