Pro-Iranian parties win in Iraq’s provincial elections boycotted by al-Sadr
Held after a decade, the vote went off smoothly with no incidents nor fraud. Some 42 per cent of eligible voters cast their ballots. Pro-Iranian Shia parties that back current prime minister won in the capital and the south, a sign of things to come in the parliamentary elections set for 2025.
Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Iraq held provincial elections on Monday, the first since 2013, which were repeatedly postponed due to the war against the Islamic State and internal tensions. The fact that they took place at all is already a success.
For 10 years, Iraqis waited, but the electoral process went off without a hitch nor charges of fraud, even though powerful Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr’s faction boycotted the poll to protest the current government.
About 42 per cent of eligible voters chose among 6,000 candidates seeking one of 285 council seats up for grab in the system established after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
The last provincial elections were held on 20 April 2013, with the party of then Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki winning a majority. However, following anti-corruption protests, the Iraqi parliament dissolved the provincial councils on 28 October 2019.
Monday’s vote is seen as a crucial test for the existing balance of power in a country where groups close to Iran have gained greater influence and are likely to win the 2025 parliamentary elections.
A key aspect of this vote was the decision by al-Sadr's faction not to run because its attempts to form a national government following the 2021 parliamentary elections were thwarted by other parties even though it was the largest party in parliament.
According to early results released by the Independent High Electoral Commission, the three main lists backed by Iran, which constitute the backbone of the current administration, are in the lead in many cities, especially in the south of the country, where Shias are the majority, and in the capital Baghdad.
The leading pro-Iran lists include both Hadi al-Amiri’s Nabni (We are Building) Alliance, with groups associated with pro-Iran Popular Mobilisation Forces (Quwwāt al-Ḥashd ash-Shaʿbī), and the State of Law coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The National Forces Union Coalition, led by former Prime Minister Haider Abadi and Shia cleric Ammar Hekim, came in third place in some southern cities after Amiri’s and Maliki's factions.
In Diyala, Governor Musenna Tamimi, close to the Badr Movement, which is also led by Amiri, won the top spot in the provincial assembly.
In the capital Baghdad, former Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Halbusi's Takaddim party took first place, while the Nabni Alliance came in second and the Rule of Law coalition came in third.
Halbusi's party also came first in the western Governorate of Anbar, an area with a large Sunni majority.
In the oil-rich south, the list led by Governor Asad Idani obtained the highest share in Basra with more than 250 votes.
In the eastern Governorate of Wasit, the list formed by the incumbent governor, Muhammad Meyyahi, came first, followed by Amiri’s and Maliki’s lists, which took second and third place.
In the multiethnic city of Kirkuk, which is also rich in oil, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) won the most votes, followed by the coalition led by Governor Hakan Cuburi, and the Turkmen list.
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28/03/2023 20:08
