Iraqi Parliament fails to meet quorum in emergency session following elections

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Iraqi Parliament failed to hold an emergency session on Saturday meant to discuss the results of the recent parliamentary elections after failing to achieve a quorum.

“Parliament has not been able to achieve a quorum for the convening of the emergency meeting, which was attended by only 105 deputies,” a parliamentary official was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri was forced to turn the meeting into “a deliberative session” which “examined the repercussions of the election results, and accusations of fraud,” the official added.

According to the official, the losing blocs in the elections, including former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law and Ammar al-Hakim’s Wisdom Movement, “submitted a complaint to the Federal Court on charges of fraud in the elections results,” but the request was denied as the session had not met a quorum.

On Thursday, Jabouri had released a letter, signed by 81 members of Parliament, in which they requested holding the emergency hearing on Saturday regarding the Iraqi parliamentary elections.

“We kindly ask that you approve an emergency meeting to discuss the goings on [of the election],” the letter read.

The letter described the results of the election as “catastrophic,” echoing the National Coalition’s, led by Iraqi Vice-President Ayad Allawi, points about low voter participation as one of the signatories’ concerns regarding the election process.

Turnout stood at 44.5 percent for the May 12 polls, according to Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC). It is the lowest voter turnout rate in Iraq in the past 13 years. In the 2014 elections, roughly 60 percent headed to the polls.

The MPs agree on the “catastrophic results that the 2018 election has produced: fraud, distortion of facts, negligence, and lack of participation,” the letter noted.