Manual election recount constitutional – scrapping votes is not: Iraqi federal court
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s Supreme Federal Court has ruled parliament’s decision to manually recount votes cast in the May 12 election is constitutional, but the annulment of IDP, diaspora, and advance votes is not.
The decision was welcomed by Kurdish parties, calling it a “healthy step” towards restoring faith in the country’s political process.
On June 6, the Iraqi parliament decreed a manual recount of 100 percent of votes, the annulment of IDP, diaspora, and advance votes, and the removal of commissioners from Iraq’s High Independent Electoral Commission (IHEC) and their replacement with nine judges.
The Iraqi parliament will convene on Friday to discuss the court's decision and its implications, Adil Mouri, KIU member of the parliament, told Rudaw.
Parliament called for the manual recount after allegations of the electronic voting system being hacked and other irregularities with the system that was new to Iraq.
According the court's ruling on Thursday, IDP, diaspora, and advance votes should now be counted toward the final election result unless evidence of fraud is submitted.
The Iraqi parliament is expected to meet on Friday to discuss the ruling.
Politics in hands of ‘power hungry’
Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Sayirun bloc that garnered the most votes, expressed concern that a re-do of the election, if this is the conclusion reached after the manual recount, would increase public apathy towards politics.
However, he advised all parties to abide by the law, even if they aren’t convinced by it, and called on the judiciary to remain neutral when doing the manual recount.
He also warned against taking too long to complete the manual recount.
“In case of a delay in the manual recount until July 1st of this year, the government has to adhere to the law and not extend its jurisdiction and not take advantage of the constitutional limbo,” Sadr said in a statement on Thursday.
Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had pointed out the day before that the results are not considered final until the supreme court ratifies them. Until then, his government will continue to work with Abadi insisting there is no power vacuum.
Sadr advised government ministries, especially the service-oriented ones, to continue working so that political and electoral rivalries “don’t exacerbate the suffering of the nation.”
Sadr’s Sayirun bloc ran on a cross-sectarian and reform-minded platform. Though no party was given a strong mandate by voters, Sadr emerged as the victor and his position initially appeared robust as he engaged in talks with parties from across the spectrum.
His alliance with Sunni leaders, however, took a hit when he made overtures with Shiite parties that have ties to Iranian-backed militias.
Sadr on Thursday called on political blocs to move forward towards “serious dialogue to obtain the proper alliances” for real reform.
While he did insist that “reform will be victorious” and hopes a manual recount will not pave the way for the “return of the corrupt,” he lamented that the political process has fallen into the hands of “the corrupt and the power hungry.”
Kurdish, Turkmen parties declare ‘victory’
“Thank God, the federal court accepted what we had appealed against and called for. It annulled the decision made by the parliament,” Ismael Mandalawi, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)’s lawyer told Rudaw.
“We as KDP’s lawyers submitted our request to annul article three of law 45 in which there is injustice toward the Peshmerga [and] IDPs. Thank God, the federal court accepted what we stressed and rejected the decision,” he added.
Rebwar Taha, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “Revoking the section which called for the annulment of the votes of Peshmerga and Kurdistan Region’s security forces was important for us. Thank God, through our lawyers, we could convince the court that this is unconstitutional and illegal. Now the votes of the Peshmerga and Asayish will not be annulled, which they wanted to revoke. This is very important for us.”
Six Kurdish parties led the objections to the election results – Gorran, KIU, CDJ, Komal, Kurdistan Communist Party, and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement – calling themselves the dissatisfied parties. They have also welcomed the court’s decision.
“From the viewpoint of considering ourselves the guardians of the law and the people’s vote, we respect the decision of the federal court, including the recount of Peshmerga, interior forces, diaspora, and IDP votes,” read a statement from them.
The parties said that they will monitor the manual recount, noting that the ballot boxes haven’t been under the auspices of their representatives for some time now.
Hasan Toran, deputy head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, said in a statement: “The Iraqi Turkmen Front welcomes the verdict by the federal court on the third amendment of the election law. It is a victory for the will of the Iraqi people. We reject this fraud committed in the parliamentary election, especially in the province of Kirkuk. This is a revolution to shame fraudsters.”
Ahmad Haji Rashid, head of Komal bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “We welcome the decision ruled by the court and deem it a success. We congratulate the federal court that worked professionally and independently. And we believe in the verdict by the court.”
Arafat Karam, head of the KDP faction in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “The verdict by the federal court on early voting is good news.”
Muthana Amin, head of Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “The federal court has taken into account the political situation of Iraq following the election and taken a healthy direction to restore the political process.”
Amin characterized the verdict ruled by the federal court as “a good victory for the will of the people.”
Head of the CDJ and former KRG prime minister Barham Salih described the court decision as an “important start to protect the votes of the electorate and we hope it will lead to radically addressing the dangerous violations that surrounded the elections."
But success depends on “the cooperation of specific parties,” he noted on Twitter.
"What is important is to return confidence in the democratic process” through a process that will reveal what violations occurred, he stated.
"We see that a national dialogue in Kurdistan and on the level of Iraq is needed for total settlement and agreement on a roadmap that could get us out of this catastrophic cycle, on the basis of respecting the rights of the citizens, rule of law, and protection of societal peace," Salih argued.
The UN mission in Iraq reacted to the court ruling, again offering its assistance.
UN envoy Jan Kubis “is confident that the Board of Judges will develop such modalities of recount that will enable them to conduct the work as expeditiously as possible and in a fully transparent way, that will increase public confidence in the election process, enhance its integrity, deliver electoral justice and contribute to the legitimacy of the results of the elections,” read a statement issued by UNAMI.
The decision was welcomed by Kurdish parties, calling it a “healthy step” towards restoring faith in the country’s political process.
On June 6, the Iraqi parliament decreed a manual recount of 100 percent of votes, the annulment of IDP, diaspora, and advance votes, and the removal of commissioners from Iraq’s High Independent Electoral Commission (IHEC) and their replacement with nine judges.
The Iraqi parliament will convene on Friday to discuss the court's decision and its implications, Adil Mouri, KIU member of the parliament, told Rudaw.
Parliament called for the manual recount after allegations of the electronic voting system being hacked and other irregularities with the system that was new to Iraq.
According the court's ruling on Thursday, IDP, diaspora, and advance votes should now be counted toward the final election result unless evidence of fraud is submitted.
The Iraqi parliament is expected to meet on Friday to discuss the ruling.
Politics in hands of ‘power hungry’
Muqtada al-Sadr, the head of the Sayirun bloc that garnered the most votes, expressed concern that a re-do of the election, if this is the conclusion reached after the manual recount, would increase public apathy towards politics.
However, he advised all parties to abide by the law, even if they aren’t convinced by it, and called on the judiciary to remain neutral when doing the manual recount.
He also warned against taking too long to complete the manual recount.
“In case of a delay in the manual recount until July 1st of this year, the government has to adhere to the law and not extend its jurisdiction and not take advantage of the constitutional limbo,” Sadr said in a statement on Thursday.
Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had pointed out the day before that the results are not considered final until the supreme court ratifies them. Until then, his government will continue to work with Abadi insisting there is no power vacuum.
Sadr advised government ministries, especially the service-oriented ones, to continue working so that political and electoral rivalries “don’t exacerbate the suffering of the nation.”
Sadr’s Sayirun bloc ran on a cross-sectarian and reform-minded platform. Though no party was given a strong mandate by voters, Sadr emerged as the victor and his position initially appeared robust as he engaged in talks with parties from across the spectrum.
His alliance with Sunni leaders, however, took a hit when he made overtures with Shiite parties that have ties to Iranian-backed militias.
Sadr on Thursday called on political blocs to move forward towards “serious dialogue to obtain the proper alliances” for real reform.
While he did insist that “reform will be victorious” and hopes a manual recount will not pave the way for the “return of the corrupt,” he lamented that the political process has fallen into the hands of “the corrupt and the power hungry.”
Kurdish, Turkmen parties declare ‘victory’
“Thank God, the federal court accepted what we had appealed against and called for. It annulled the decision made by the parliament,” Ismael Mandalawi, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)’s lawyer told Rudaw.
“We as KDP’s lawyers submitted our request to annul article three of law 45 in which there is injustice toward the Peshmerga [and] IDPs. Thank God, the federal court accepted what we stressed and rejected the decision,” he added.
Rebwar Taha, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member of the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “Revoking the section which called for the annulment of the votes of Peshmerga and Kurdistan Region’s security forces was important for us. Thank God, through our lawyers, we could convince the court that this is unconstitutional and illegal. Now the votes of the Peshmerga and Asayish will not be annulled, which they wanted to revoke. This is very important for us.”
Six Kurdish parties led the objections to the election results – Gorran, KIU, CDJ, Komal, Kurdistan Communist Party, and the Kurdistan Islamic Movement – calling themselves the dissatisfied parties. They have also welcomed the court’s decision.
“From the viewpoint of considering ourselves the guardians of the law and the people’s vote, we respect the decision of the federal court, including the recount of Peshmerga, interior forces, diaspora, and IDP votes,” read a statement from them.
The parties said that they will monitor the manual recount, noting that the ballot boxes haven’t been under the auspices of their representatives for some time now.
Hasan Toran, deputy head of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, said in a statement: “The Iraqi Turkmen Front welcomes the verdict by the federal court on the third amendment of the election law. It is a victory for the will of the Iraqi people. We reject this fraud committed in the parliamentary election, especially in the province of Kirkuk. This is a revolution to shame fraudsters.”
Ahmad Haji Rashid, head of Komal bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “We welcome the decision ruled by the court and deem it a success. We congratulate the federal court that worked professionally and independently. And we believe in the verdict by the court.”
Arafat Karam, head of the KDP faction in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “The verdict by the federal court on early voting is good news.”
Muthana Amin, head of Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) bloc in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw: “The federal court has taken into account the political situation of Iraq following the election and taken a healthy direction to restore the political process.”
Amin characterized the verdict ruled by the federal court as “a good victory for the will of the people.”
Head of the CDJ and former KRG prime minister Barham Salih described the court decision as an “important start to protect the votes of the electorate and we hope it will lead to radically addressing the dangerous violations that surrounded the elections."
But success depends on “the cooperation of specific parties,” he noted on Twitter.
"What is important is to return confidence in the democratic process” through a process that will reveal what violations occurred, he stated.
"We see that a national dialogue in Kurdistan and on the level of Iraq is needed for total settlement and agreement on a roadmap that could get us out of this catastrophic cycle, on the basis of respecting the rights of the citizens, rule of law, and protection of societal peace," Salih argued.
The UN mission in Iraq reacted to the court ruling, again offering its assistance.
UN envoy Jan Kubis “is confident that the Board of Judges will develop such modalities of recount that will enable them to conduct the work as expeditiously as possible and in a fully transparent way, that will increase public confidence in the election process, enhance its integrity, deliver electoral justice and contribute to the legitimacy of the results of the elections,” read a statement issued by UNAMI.
Updated at 10:32 pm