After the announcement of the final election results, al-Sadr to IHEC: Thanks

Shafaq News/ The leader of the Sadrist movement, Muqtada al-Sadr, thanked the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) after the latter announced his bloc victorious in the final results of the Iraqi parliamentary polls held earlier this year in October.

In brief tweet on his official Twitter account, al-Sadr said, "Thanks to the election commission."

IHEC released final results on Tuesday from last month's general election, confirming populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's movement's victory as the biggest bloc, with 73 seats in the fractious 329-seat house.

The Taqaddum Party, which draws support from minority Sunni Muslims, won 37 seats. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law group won 33 seats, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 31, according to the results cited by state media.

The results were broadly in line with preliminary figures released in the days after the Oct. 10 election, and unlikely to alter calculations much as politicians negotiate on the makeup of a new government. Pro-Iran groups who performed poorly have refused to accept the results.

Turnout reached 44%, the commission said, revised up from the 43% preliminary figure but still lower than in the last election in 2018.

More than 9.6 million people cast their ballots in the Oct. 10 vote, where at least 167 parties and more than 3,200 candidates competed for the parliament's 329 seats, the commission said.