Iraq’s Election Commission Appeals Parliament’s Order for Recount

Officials say parliament's orders violate constitution

Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) was sacked by parliament on Wednesday, but a day later has filed an appeal in court to the decision, saying the changes to election law after the election violate the constitution.

Ballots stored in Najaf

Parliament both fired the entire IHEC commission and ordered a full recount of all 11 million ballots cast in the May election. MPs cited reports of violation as proving the need for recounts. Most of the reports came out of Kirkuk, however, where a recount was already happening.

Prime Minister Hayder Abadi seemed to be driving the push for a recount, expressing serious concerns about the violations. Abadi did extremely poorly in the vote, coming in a distant third in the elections.

The plurality of the election was won by the party loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, while Badr Brigade head Hadi Amiri’s pro-militia bloc finished second. Starting the talks on forming a coalition is going to be on hold, at least for now, until it’s clear where the recount leaves everyone.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.