ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Shiite cleric and leader of the top-performing Sadrist Movement, which gained over 70 seats in Iraq’s recent parliamentary election, commended the Iraqi electoral commission for their job and condemned political and security pressures on the commission on Sunday.
“As we announce the integrity of the work of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and its professionalism in every detail of its work, we refuse to interfere in its work on one hand, and assure the safety of its members and affiliates on the other,” Muqtada al-Sadr said in a statement.
“We also condemn and denounce all political and security pressures that the commission has faced from its first day of work until today,” Sadr added.
Sadr’s statement comes as several Iran-backed groups continue to reject the election results, claiming it was fraudulent. During a meeting with former Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Sunday, the head of the Fatih Alliance said that he has filed an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court, adding that it has “enough evidence to annul the election results.”
Iraq held its parliamentary election last month, and the IHEC announced the official preliminary results a week later, which showed the Sadrist Movement, Taqadum, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the State of Law Coalition securing the most parliamentary seats, with Hashd-affiliated (Popular Mobilization Forces) political parties performing poorly, and the Fatih Alliance seeing its parliamentary seats reduced by two thirds.
Parties and candidates were given the option to file complaints, and the commission completed its inspection and manual recount of votes from 4,324 stations that were the subject of complaints on November 8. Most of the appeals were rejected for lack of evidence or detail.
PMF supporters have reiterated their rejection of the results in repeated protests, most recently again on Friday. The commission’s spokesperson on Saturday said that the commission “will close the file of appeals completely.”
On Sunday, a member of the IHEC team told state media that the appeals made against the preliminary results have had an “ impact” on the final outcome, adding that the commission will announce the results once all appeals are decided by the judiciary. Final results will come within two days of the decision.
Sadr, whose movement won the most seats in last month’s parliamentary election and is set to lead the next government, on Thursday called on the militias to disband if they want to join his cabinet. The hardline pro-Iran militia Kataib Hezbollah announced on Friday the dissolution of one of its armed groups, following Sadr’s call.
