Iraq’s Elections Commission Rejects Claims of Voter Fraud
An Iraqi voter dips his finger in ink before casting his ballot at a poll station in the capital Baghdad's Karrada district on May 12, 2018. (AFP)
The Independent High Electoral Commission in Iraq refused on Friday to bow down to political pressure and claims of voting fraud.
It said that it was committed to counting the votes in last weekend’s elections electronically and with the equipment that was dedicated to this process.
It added that those objecting to the vote, should file complaints according to the commission’s legal rules.
The parliament is set to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis.
State of Law coalition MP Awatef Nehme told Asharq Al-Awsat: “We have damning evidence of voting fraud.”
Kirkuk Governor Rakan Saeed al-Jabouri described the elections results in the province as a “disaster.”
“Everyone, but the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, was harmed from the results because it was the side that committed fraud,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“The crisis in Kirkuk can only be resolved through a manual vote count, which is a demand voiced by the Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish political blocs,” he stressed.
“It is not logical that the Kirkuk votes would have gone to a side that had lost its popularity due to wrong policies,” he continued, demanding that the technical problems at the electoral commission be fixed.
Deputy director of the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies Dr. Bassel Hussein told Asharq Al-Awsat that there were many misgivings over the commission, “especially since it had partisan representation and was never independent.”
It took a number of wrong measures since the beginning of the preparation for the elections, he said.
These include opening the way for electoral alliances and then shutting it even before an electoral law was adopted. He explained that political blocs are usually formed based on an electoral law.
Israel Says Two Gaza Flotilla Activists Brought in for Questioninghttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5268893-israel-says-two-gaza-flotilla-activists-brought-questioning
Vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted on international waters by the Israeli Navy, sail off the city of Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, May 1, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Says Two Gaza Flotilla Activists Brought in for Questioning
Vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was intercepted on international waters by the Israeli Navy, sail off the city of Ierapetra, on the island of Crete, Greece, May 1, 2026. (Reuters)
Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the foreign ministry said Saturday, after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces.
The flotilla of more than 50 vessels had set sail from ports in France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking an Israeli blockade of Gaza and bringing supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory.
They were intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters off Greece early on Thursday.
Israel said it had removed around 175 activists from the flotilla, but organizers accused Israeli personnel of "kidnapping" 211 people.
Two of them, Saif Abu Keshek from Spain and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, were taken to Israel "for questioning by law enforcement authorities", the foreign ministry said on X.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares denounced Israel's detention of Abu Keshek as "illegal", warning it came at a moment of already deteriorating ties between the two countries.
"We are facing an illegal detention in international waters, outside any jurisdiction of the Israeli authorities so Saif Abu Keshek must be released immediately so that he can return to Spain," Albares told Rac1 radio.
"This is an episode that further strains our relationship... (with Israel) because of how unacceptable this situation is, because a state does not conduct itself in this manner."
- Worsening ties -
Ties between Israel and Spain have nosedived since the Gaza war sparked by the October 2023 Hamas cross-border attacks, with Israel angered by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's unrelenting criticism of its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.
Both countries have withdrawn their ambassadors.
Israel's foreign ministry said the two activists were affiliated with an organization that was sanctioned by the US Treasury.
That group -- the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) -- has been accused by Washington of "clandestinely acting on behalf of" Palestinian group Hamas.
The Treasury said the organization had played a role in organizing other Gaza-bound flotillas aimed at breaking Israel's blockade.
Israel's foreign ministry said Abu Keshek was a leading member of the PCPA. It said Avila was also linked to the organization and was "suspected of illegal activity".
"Both will receive a consular visit from the representatives of their respective countries in Israel," the ministry said.
Albares rejected the allegation, saying: "The information I myself have requested indicates that no link can be established between Saif Abu Keshek and Hamas".
Avila was among the organizers of a flotilla that tried to bring aid to Gaza last year. That effort was also intercepted by Israeli forces.
- Activists 'beaten' -
Israel controls all entry points into Gaza and the territory has been under Israeli blockade since 2007.
Throughout the Gaza war, there have been shortages of critical supplies in the Palestinian territory, with Israel at times cutting off aid entirely.
Organizers of the latest flotilla said the Israeli interception took place more than 1,000 kilometers from Gaza.
They said their equipment was smashed and the intervention left them facing a "calculated death trap at sea".
Dozens of intercepted activists disembarked on Friday at the Greek island of Crete, according to an AFP journalist.
Organizers published photos on X showing two activists with bruises on their faces, while one participant said in footage that Israeli forces had "beaten" them "several times".
Hamas condemned the interception, urging rights groups to pursue legal action against Israeli authorities for "crimes against the Global Sumud Flotilla, ensuring they do not enjoy impunity".
The Global Sumud Flotilla's first Mediterranean voyage to Gaza in the summer and autumn of 2025 drew worldwide attention, before Israeli forces intercepted the boats off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza in early October.
Crew members, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, were arrested and expelled by Israeli forces.
Israel Steps up Pressure with Displacement, Strikes after Aoun Rejects Netanyahu Meetinghttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5268881-israel-steps-pressure-displacement-strikes-after-aoun-rejects-netanyahu-meeting
Rescue personnel clear rubble from buildings destroyed in the Lebanese town of Habboush, following Israeli strikes, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon, May 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Israel Steps up Pressure with Displacement, Strikes after Aoun Rejects Netanyahu Meeting
Rescue personnel clear rubble from buildings destroyed in the Lebanese town of Habboush, following Israeli strikes, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon, May 2, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Israel has intensified pressure on Lebanon by expanding evacuation warnings and resuming deep airstrikes, now covering most towns in the Nabatieh and Tyre districts and effectively isolating the city of Nabatieh from its surroundings. The escalation follows the failure of efforts to arrange a meeting in Washington between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under US auspices.
Lebanese ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that “it is far too early” for such a meeting, stressing that the priority now is to end the war, secure an Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese territory, allow displaced residents to return to their areas, and begin reconstruction.
In Beirut, the Israeli escalation is seen as additional pressure on the Lebanese state and Hezbollah amid a stalled political track. The Israeli army issued new evacuation warnings for nine towns in the Nabatieh district, adding to dozens of villages and towns previously warned starting last Sunday, prompting tens of thousands of residents to flee once again.
The new warning includes Qaquaiyat al-Jisr, Adshit al-Shaqif, Jibsheet, Aba, Kfarjouz, Harouf, Doueir, Deir al-Zahrani, and Habboush. This effectively restricts access to the city of Nabatieh, north of the Litani River, from all directions, leaving it isolated.
The Israeli army called on residents to immediately evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000 meters away to open areas, warning that “anyone near Hezbollah elements, facilities, or combat assets is putting their life at risk.”
Airstrikes
Within hours of the warning, airstrikes began targeting the affected villages. The state-run National News Agency reported that Israeli warplanes struck the old Husseiniya in the town of Doueir in Nabatieh district, completely destroying it.
Nearby, a condolence hall, additional halls and ground-level rooms, and a headquarters of the Islamic Risala Scout Association were also destroyed. Graves and a martyrs’ cemetery were heavily damaged, along with several parked vehicles.
Israeli warplanes also struck Qaquaiyat al-Jisr, Safad al-Battikh, the outskirts of Braachit, Shaqra, al-Shihabiya, Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Kounine, Adshit, Majdal Zoun, al-Shaitiya, al-Samaaiya, the area between Kafra and Yater, and the Shoukin–Nabatieh road, with reports of casualties. Meanwhile, Majdal Selm and Qabrikha came under artillery fire.
Strikes were also carried out near the vocational institute building in Nabatieh and near al-Quds roundabout in the city. A vehicle on the Kfar Dajjal–Nabatieh road was targeted, resulting in two deaths. Three residents from Shoukin, one from Meifdoun, and two Syrians were also killed in air raids on Shoukin in Nabatieh district.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Mayfadoun in the Nabatieh district on May 2, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
Shelling and drone attacks
Yahmar al-Shaqif was subjected to Israeli phosphorus shelling accompanied by heavy machine-gun fire near the Litani River toward the town of Taybeh. Artillery shelling also targeted Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Zawtar al-Gharbiya, Meifdoun, al-Mansouri, Majdal Zoun, Touline, and Qabrikha. An airstrike on a house in the town of al-Luweizeh in the Iqlim al-Tuffah area killed three people.
In the western sector, Israeli forces fired heavy machine guns toward the outskirts of Ramieh and Qawzah. An Israeli loitering drone targeted a motorcycle at the Deir Qanoun Ras al-Ain junction south of Tyre, killing one person and wounding another who was taken to hospitals in Tyre.
Another drone strike targeted a motorcycle on the al-Shaitiya road in Tyre district, seriously injuring the rider. Drones were also reported flying over villages in al-Zahrani.
The cumulative death toll in Lebanon since March 2 has reached 2,659 killed and 8,183 wounded, according to the Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Public Health.
Hezbollah
Hezbollah, for its part, continued launching suicide drones targeting Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles inside occupied Lebanese territory. In a statement, the group said its fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli forces in the town of al-Bayada with a loitering munition.
The Israeli army said its air force intercepted a rocket fired toward its forces in southern Lebanon on Saturday afternoon.
It added that Hezbollah launched rockets and explosive drones in several other incidents on Saturday, which fell near areas where Israeli forces are operating in southern Lebanon, without causing casualties.
Oil Tanker Hijacked off Yemen, Diverted Towards Somaliahttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5268858-oil-tanker-hijacked-yemen-diverted-towards-somalia
Oil Tanker Hijacked off Yemen, Diverted Towards Somalia
Oil tanker (file photo – Reuters)
An oil tanker was hijacked on Saturday off the coast of Yemen in the Gulf of Aden and taken toward Somalia, the Yemeni coast guard said.
According to the agency, the tanker EUREKA was seized off Shabwa province by unknown individuals who "boarded, took control of it, then steered it... in the direction of the Somali coast".
It also said that the tanker has been located, and efforts are under way to track it and take the necessary measures in an attempt to recover it and ensure the safety of its crew, whose number and nationalities were not specified.
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