Top Iraqi court upholds manual recount of votes

By Ibrahim Saleh

BAGHDAD (AA) - The Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, the country's highest judicial authority, upheld on Thursday a decision by the parliament to manually recount the votes of the May 12 parliamentary elections.

The court, however, rejected other parliamentary decisions annulling votes of Iraqi expatriates and internally displaced people, as well as votes from the security personnel and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, according to state T.V.

The court reviewed the validity of the decisions taken by parliament earlier this month following an appeal lodged by Iraqi President Fuad Masum.

Official results of Iraq’s May 12 election have been dogged by controversy and allegations of vote-rigging -- allegations dismissed by the leading coalitions.

On June 6, parliament voted in favor of amending Iraq’s election law, allowing votes to be recounted manually.

Shortly afterward, a panel of judges was appointed to assume the responsibilities of the electoral commission, several members of which were sacked amid widespread allegations of electoral fraud.

Muqtada al-Sadr, an influential politician and Shia cleric, has said that parliament lacks the authority to overturn official election results.

Al-Sadr's Sairoon coalition dominated the May 12 poll, winning 54 parliamentary seats, according to official results.

Sairoon was followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-led coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Victory Bloc (42 seats).

Ammar al-Hakim’s National Wisdom Movement, meanwhile, clinched 19 seats in the assembly.