Iraqi Supreme Court ratifies election results, inter-party negotiations intensify
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq announced on Sunday it had ratified the results of the country’s May 12 parliamentary elections, three days after the Iraqi High Electoral Commission (IHEC) delivered the votes.
“After careful review and deliberation of the names and the objections directed towards some of them, the Federal Supreme Court issued [by consensus] its decision this afternoon and approved the names [of the elected members] presented,” read the statement released by the court.
The first to be held since the rise and fall of the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, the nationwide election was marred by allegations of fraud which eventually resulted in an order by parliament —which the FSC ratified— to recount the votes manually. The newly-introduced and used electronic vote casting devices were deemed untrustworthy by parties who filed complaints with the commission.
In late June, the Supreme Court also ratified part of the parliament’s decision to freeze the work of the IHEC, assigning nine judges to manage the recount instead.
On Aug. 9, the commission asserted there was no significant change from results it had initially announced and that all winning blocs maintained the same number of seats.
The 54 seats that influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Sairoon Coalition won after the May 12 vote have not changed, the IHEC revealed, as was the case with the runner-up, the Iran-backed Hadi al-Amiri’s al-Fatih Coalition, with 47 seats. Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s Nasr (Victory) Coalition stayed at 42 seats.
The Supreme Court’s announcement comes as competing factions engage in intense negotiations to assemble the “largest bloc” and form government.
Sources have told Kurdistan 24 there are talks of the Sadr-led Sairoon, Ammar al-Hakim’s al-Hikma (Wisdom), and the Iyad Allawi-led al-Wataniya (National) coalition may announce the formation of said bloc Sunday evening.
Other sources claim the State of Law, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, may also attempt to form the largest bloc after holding talks with other coalitions, including those in the Kurdistan Region.
Editing by Nadia Riva