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Iraq’s Sudani scores ‘major victory’ in general election
Sudani's "Reconstruction and Development list has secured a major victory" following the vote on Tuesday, an official close to the premier told AFP.
Another two sources said the premier's alliance has "won the largest bloc" with approximately 50 seats.
Iraq's electoral commission was expected to announce preliminary results later this evening. Sudani, who hopes for a second term, has emerged as a major force in Iraqi politics, after he was brought to power three years ago by an alliance of Shia groups.
Iraqis cast their ballots on Tuesday, with a high turnout of 56.11 percent, a sharp jump from the record low of 41 percent in 2021.
With an outright majority almost impossible to achieve by any single list, the role of prime minister is determined by the coalition that can secure enough post-election allies to form the largest Shia alliance.
In past elections, naming a premier and forming a government has proven to be the most taxing post-election process.
In previous parliaments, parties from the Shia majority have struck compromise deals to work together and form a government.
By convention in post-invasion Iraq, a Shia Arab holds the powerful post of prime minister and a Sunni Arab that of parliament speaker, while the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.
A total of 8,703 polling stations were open across the country for the general elections. Members of the security forces and displaced people living in camps cast their ballots in early voting on Sunday.
Only 21.4 million out of a total of 32 million eligible voters updated their information and obtained voter cards ahead of the polling.
More than 7,740 candidates, nearly a third of them women and only 75 independents, were standing under an electoral law that many believe favors larger parties.
The current parliament began its term on January 9, 2022, and will last four years, ending on January 8, 2026.