Reuters
The Iraqi Electoral Commission announced late on Saturday that the turnout in the October 10 parliamentary elections this year was 43%, a slight increase from the initial results, but lower than the last election in 2018.
The panel added that the total number of voters exceeded 9.6 million and that the results were subject to appeal. Clergyman Muqtada al-Sadr said his constituency had won a large number of seats in parliament and would not run in the by-elections.
Al-Sadr, which opposes foreign intervention, said in a statement on Saturday: “We will seek national alliances, not sectarianism or ethnicity, under the tent of reform in line with the aspirations of the people.”
The Election Commission had announced on October 10 that the turnout in the preliminary results was 41 percent.
The country’s Electoral Commission says at least 167 parties and more than 3,200 candidates are vying for 329 parliamentary seats.
Elections were held a few months earlier, which toppled the government in response to mass protests in 2019 and sparked widespread anger against political leaders, with many Iraqis claiming to have made a fortune at the country’s expense.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Ghazi is not a candidate in the election, but negotiations after the referendum could lead to his second term in office. Al-Qaeda, which is considered close to the West, has no specific party support.