{"id":46364,"date":"2018-08-11T08:07:08","date_gmt":"2018-08-11T08:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=46364"},"modified":"2018-08-11T08:07:08","modified_gmt":"2018-08-11T08:07:08","slug":"iraqi-cleric-sadr-wins-vote-recount-electoral-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=46364","title":{"rendered":"Iraqi cleric Sadr wins vote recount: electoral commission"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"International desk: Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr\u2019s alliance won Iraq\u2019s legislative election in May according to a manual recount, the electoral commission said Friday, paving the way for a government to be formed nearly three months after the polls.<\/p>\n

Allegations of fraud prompted the supreme court to order a partial manual recount, but Sadr\u2019s joint list with communists will retain all 54 seats it won to become the biggest bloc in Iraq\u2019s 329-seat parliament.<\/p>\n

The only change resulting from the recount will be an extra seat for the Conquest Alliance of pro-Iranian former paramilitary fighters at the expense of a local Baghdad list.<\/p>\n

Conquest Alliance remains in second place but will have 48 seats instead of 47, Iraq\u2019s nine-member electoral commission said.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi\u2019s bloc remains in third with just 42 seats.<\/p>\n

After the supreme court officially announces the final results, the
\noutgoing president has 15 days to convene the parliament, which must then elect a new head of state and begin the process for forming a coalition government.<\/p>\n

Sadr has already signed a coalition agreement with Shiite Ammar al-Hakim\u2019s Al-Hikma list, which will stay on 19 seats after the recount, and the secular outgoing vice-president Iyad Allawi, whose list was comprised largely of Sunnis and secured 21 seats.<\/p>\n

The May 12 election saw a record low turnout of 44.5 percent, with long-time political figures pushed out by voters seeking change in a country mired in conflict and corruption.<\/p>\n

The recount results come after deadly protests broke out earlier in the summer, with demonstrators angry at water shortages, unemployment and the dire state of public services.<\/p>\n

Regular power cuts mean there has been little respite from sweltering summer temperatures and with the national grid providing just a few hours of electricity per day, many Iraqis are forced to pay to use generators through the private sector.<\/p>\n

Graft is also seen as a huge problem in a country where citizens argue they fail to benefit from the country\u2019s oil wealth.<\/p>\n

Officially $40 billion (34 billion euros) has been allocated to the power sector over the past 15 years, but a substantial slice has been siphoned off by corrupt politicians and businessmen who have fronted fake contracts.<\/p>\n

In an attempt to quell public anger after more than a month of protests, Abadi sacked four directors in the electricity ministry on Tuesday and moved a number of others.<\/p>\n

The decision followed the dismissal last month of electricity minister Qassem al-Fahdawi \u201cbecause of the deterioration in the electricity sector\u201d, the premier\u2019s office said at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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International desk: Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr\u2019s alliance won Iraq\u2019s legislative election in May according to a manual recount, the electoral commission said Friday, paving the way for a government to be formed nearly three months after the polls. Allegations of fraud prompted the supreme court to order a partial manual recount, but Sadr\u2019s joint […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":46365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n