Shafaq News – Baghdad
Election monitoring organizations reported on Thursday that Shiite-led lists secured about 187 of 329 parliamentary seats, ahead of all other blocs, in Iraq’s preliminary results.
According to the tallies, Sunni parties won 77 seats, Kurdish parties 56, and one seat went to a Yazidi candidate. The figures also indicate that the Shiite share includes several seats won within Sunni-led coalitions.
The country concluded its sixth parliamentary elections since 2003 on Tuesday, with the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) reporting voter turnout above 56%. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s al-Ima'ar Wal Tanmiya (Reconstruction and Development) bloc led in eight of Iraq’s 18 provinces, securing 46 seats. The Taqaddum Party, headed by former parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, ranked second with 33 seats, followed by the State of Law Coalition (E’tilaf Dawlat al-Qanoun) led by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, with 30 seats.