A total of 12,009,453 people voted to elect 329 parliamentary seats, the Independent High Electoral Commission said in a statement.
The newspaper explained that 10,904,637 Iraqis voted on Tuesday, representing a turnout of 54.35%, while in Sunday’s special vote, 1,084,289 military and security personnel and 20,527 displaced persons voted, resulting in a turnout of 82.52% and 77.35%, respectively.
A total of 7,743 candidates participated in the elections, of which 2,247 were women.
The current parliamentary term begins on January 9, 2022 and lasts for four years. Under Iraqi law, parliamentary elections must be held at least 45 days before the end of the current parliamentary term.
According to Reuters, two election commission officials with knowledge of the results said that the coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani came in first place in the provisional results. Sudani was seeking a second term in Tuesday’s election, but many disillusioned young voters saw the vote as simply a way for established parties to divide Iraq’s oil wealth.
But Sudani claimed he was acting against the established party that brought him to power and sought to position himself as a leader who could finally bring Iraq to success after years of instability.
No party can form a government alone in Iraq’s 329-member parliament, so each party must forge alliances with other groups to form a government, a process that often takes months.
The Kurdistan Region’s Kurdish parties, PDK and PUK, came in first with a difference of 29 and 18 seats, respectively.
MNA