ADDS DETAILS
By Mohammed Hamood Ali Al Ragawi and Rania Abu Shamala
ISTANBUL (AA) - Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission announced late Monday that the Reconstruction and Development coalition led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has topped the final results of parliamentary elections, securing 46 seats out of the 329-seat legislature.
According to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the coalition came in first with 46 seats, followed by the Progress party led by former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, which won 36 seats.
The State of Law coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki secured 29 seats, according to the commission’s figures.
The Shia-led Coordination Framework said later that it has formally designated itself as the largest parliamentary bloc, bringing together all its constituent parties, according to NNA.
It also formed two committees: one to develop a unified national governance vision and another to interview candidates for the prime minister’s post.
The bloc said it will move forward with nominating a prime minister in accordance with constitutional procedures.
The meeting also discussed “the criteria adopted for selecting the prime minister, in addition to the nature of the required government program in a manner consistent with the political, economic and service-related challenges Iraq faces and in a way that meets citizens’ aspirations for reform, stability and development.”
Voter turnout in last week’s parliamentary elections reached 56.11%, with 7,743 candidates competing for 329 seats — the total number of members of parliament who are responsible for electing the president and granting confidence to the government.
In Iraq, no single party can form a government alone, which forces parties to form alliances -- a process that often takes months.
The Shia-led Coordination Framework was founded after the 2021 legislative elections to counter efforts by the Sadrist Movement to form a “national majority government.”
It is customary in Iraq’s power-sharing system for the prime minister to be Shia, the president Kurdish, and the parliament speaker Sunni.