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Iraq
Employees of Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission conduct a manual count of votes following the parliamentary elections in Baghdad's Green Zone area on October 13, 2021. Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/ AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s electoral body has started sending election appeals to the judiciary to decide on, state media reported on Sunday. Official election results are expected to come out within two days of the court’s decision.
“The commission has started today [Sunday] to send appeals to the judiciary,” Imad Jamil, a member of the commission’s media team told state media.
The final results of the vote will be announced two days after the judiciary makes its final decision on the appeals, he added.
Iraq held its parliamentary election last month, and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced official preliminary results shortly after, giving parties the option to file complaints. The commission completed an inspection and manual recount of votes from thousands of stations that were the subject of complaints on November 8. Most of the appeals were rejected for lack of evidence or detail.
The appeals had a “strong impact” on the final outcome of the vote, Jamil said last week.
Preliminary results showed the Sadrist movement, Taqadum, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the State of Law Coalition securing the most parliamentary seats. Iran-backed parties affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) performed poorly in the election, and the Fatih Alliance lost by one of the widest margins, reducing its seats in the legislative body from 48 to 15.
PMF supporters have rejected the results in repeated protests, calling for a new vote or recount of votes, but the IHEC previously indicated that it will not repeat the process of manual count of votes.
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 commission has started today [Sunday] to send appeals to the judiciary,” Imad Jamil, a member of the commission’s media team told state media.
The final results of the vote will be announced two days after the judiciary makes its final decision on the appeals, he added.
Iraq held its parliamentary election last month, and the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced official preliminary results shortly after, giving parties the option to file complaints. The commission completed an inspection and manual recount of votes from thousands of stations that were the subject of complaints on November 8. Most of the appeals were rejected for lack of evidence or detail.
The appeals had a “strong impact” on the final outcome of the vote, Jamil said last week.
Preliminary results showed the Sadrist movement, Taqadum, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the State of Law Coalition securing the most parliamentary seats. Iran-backed parties affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) performed poorly in the election, and the Fatih Alliance lost by one of the widest margins, reducing its seats in the legislative body from 48 to 15.
PMF supporters have rejected the results in repeated protests, calling for a new vote or recount of votes, but the IHEC previously indicated that it will not repeat the process of manual count of votes.
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.
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