Counting more than 95 percent of the votes cast in 10 of Iraq’s 18 provinces, Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s alliance with communists is leading in Iraq’s parliamentary election the electoral commission announced on May 14, according to the international new agency Reuters.
Sadr was a leader of two revolts against the US forces in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Then, Washington even called the Shia militia loyal to Sadr the biggest threat to Iraq’s security.
The Conquest Alliance led by a member of the Iraqi parliament Hadi al-Amiri, held the second place. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s Victory Alliance trailed in third position.
The final results are expected to be announced later on May 14. After announcing, the commission will say how many seats each bloc gains.
Sadr isn’t able to become Iraqi Prime Minister as he did not run in the election. However, the revealed results give him a capability to be a key political figure during the negotiations with on a possible coalition to pick someone for the prime minister post.
On May 12, Iraq held parliamentary election, the first one since Iraq declared the victory over ISIS in December.
