Iraq closed ballot boxes on Tuesday evening in its sixth parliamentary election since 2005, ending a relatively calm voting day with no significant violations reported, amid a boycott by followers of the Sadrist movement led by influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat the turnout figure is expected to approach 40 percent, a relative improvement from the previous election.
They attributed the rise to fresh momentum in western and northern cities, in Baghdad’s belt areas, and to high participation rates in the Kurdistan region.
By midday, the Independent High Electoral Commission had announced a low turnout of 23 percent.
Technical performance and violations
On security and technical breaches, the sources said the electoral commission showed marked improvement after quickly dealing with several problems during the day, including fingerprint failures for elderly voters, manual laborers and diabetes patients, as well as malfunctioning surveillance cameras.
The commission also replaced iris scans with special election ink for identity verification.
The sources said there were violations, but monitoring networks saw nothing likely to affect the results.
Jumana al-Ghalai, spokesperson for the Commission, said the election process was successful and that it did not record technical breaches during Tuesday’s general vote.
She said the Commission was completing procedures for manual counting and sorting and matching them with electronic results.
Tough negotiations ahead
Politically, sources said competing parties agree on the need to launch rapid negotiations to form a new government, though substantive talks will only begin once final results are settled.
They expect difficult talks among all Shiite parties under the banner of the “largest bloc”, which is required to put forward a nominee to form the next government.
As soon as results are announced and parties know the size of their blocs, and even before the Federal Supreme Court certifies them, side negotiations among winning lists will start. Most observers expect these talks to be long and difficult.
The ruling pro-Iran Coordination Framework alliance said in a statement it was committed to respecting constitutional timelines and to working seriously to form a government that meets reform aspirations.
Iraqi judicial authorities expect the Federal Supreme Court to certify the results as soon as possible. Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani said on Tuesday Iraq had “overcome the first hurdle by holding the election on time without delay”.
Al-Mashhadani told Asharq Al-Awsat the second hurdle was also cleared, as the voting process proceeded smoothly and democratically with very few violations.
He said the next phase requires shifting from power struggles to state building, adding that this requires a government of competencies in a secure and prosperous environment with a successful economy, not a government built on political loyalties.
Sadr’s boycott
The complete absence of the Sadrist movement was evident after its leader Moqtada al-Sadr ordered a boycott, leaving a large gap in the Shiite landscape and lowering turnout because of the movement’s weight. The bloc won 72 seats in the last election, a little under the total Shiite share in parliament.
Sadr issued two statements on election day urging followers to stay away, saying in one, “I left a community that does not believe in the homeland or reform, and denies them. The tried should not be tried again. We are boycotting corruption and subservience.”
These messages translated into near total abstention by his supporters in their strongholds in Baghdad and other provinces.
At the end of the day, Sadr issued a third statement saying that although he had ordered a boycott, his movement did not seek to disrupt the vote. “We are not seekers of power but a project to save the homeland,” he said.
He added full responsibility now lies with those benefiting from the votes cast to restore Iraq to its rightful path, pull it out of its bottleneck, end foreign interference, and ensure all weapons are under the control of the state, including the Popular Mobilization Forces.
Official congratulations
Senior officials congratulated Iraqis on the “success of the election process”.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the Iraqi people had once again taken a distinguished step toward greater stability and success and toward strengthening the democratic system that reflects their free constitutional will and their desire to continue building the state and supporting its institutions.
Al-Sudani said that the successful organization and implementation of the sixth parliamentary election under Iraq’s permanent constitution meant the government had fulfilled one of its major commitments in its executive program, as well as its obligation to constitutional timelines and requirements ensuring peaceful power transfer.
Main competing blocs
More than 7,740 candidates, about one third of them women, competed for 329 parliamentary seats across Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni blocs and parties.
On the Shiite side, participants included the Construction and Development Alliance led by Prime Sudani, the State of Law Coalition led by former PM Nouri al-Maliki, and other lists led by Badr Organization chief Hadi al-Amiri and Asaib Ahl al-Haq Secretary General Qais al-Khazali.
On the Sunni side, the Taqadum (Progress) Party alliance led by former parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi was the most prominent, alongside the Sovereignty and Azm alliances.
In the Kurdish region, the two main parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, headed the field, joined by the New Generation Movement and other nationalist and Islamist parties spread across the Kurdistan region.
