Iraq electoral commission received more than 1,000 complaints
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s electoral commission said on Monday it received over a thousand complaints after it released updated preliminary results with the inclusion of votes that were manually counted.
“The number of appeals exceeded a thousand, because all those who lost will appeal,” Imad Jamil, a member of the commission’s media team told state media, noting that the commission will start responding to the complaints in the upcoming days.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) late on Saturday announced the final preliminary results in the parliamentary election following the manual count of polling stations that were not electronically counted due to technical issues. It also gave parties the option to file complaints about the updated results. Tuesday is the last day to submit a complaint.
“I don’t think the appeals will change the results of the elections,” Jamil said, but added the commission is “ready" to do a full recount to reassure those who have appealed.
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 is set in motion, as dictated by the constitution. Within 15 days of the ratification of the results, the president calls on the parliament to meet, chaired by its eldest member, and elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president by a two-thirds majority.
The president then tasks 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.
“The number of appeals exceeded a thousand, because all those who lost will appeal,” Imad Jamil, a member of the commission’s media team told state media, noting that the commission will start responding to the complaints in the upcoming days.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) late on Saturday announced the final preliminary results in the parliamentary election following the manual count of polling stations that were not electronically counted due to technical issues. It also gave parties the option to file complaints about the updated results. Tuesday is the last day to submit a complaint.
“I don’t think the appeals will change the results of the elections,” Jamil said, but added the commission is “ready" to do a full recount to reassure those who have appealed.
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 is set in motion, as dictated by the constitution. Within 15 days of the ratification of the results, the president calls on the parliament to meet, chaired by its eldest member, and elect a speaker and two deputies by an absolute majority. The parliament also elects a president by a two-thirds majority.
The president then tasks 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.