Cleric Sadr’s bloc wins Iraq election

Baghdad, May 19

A political bloc led by populist Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States who also opposes Iranian influence in Iraq, has won the country’s parliamentary election, the electoral commission said on Saturday.

Sadr himself cannot become the Prime Minister because he did not run for the election, though his bloc’s victory puts him in a position to have a strong say in negotiations. His Sairoon electoral list captured 54 parliamentary seats.

The Victory Alliance, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, trailed in third place with 42 seats, behind the Al-Fatih bloc, which won 47 seats. Al-Fatih is led by Hadi al-Amiri, who has close ties with Iran and heads an umbrella group of paramilitaries that played a key role in defeating Islamic State.

The results were announced a week after Iraqis voted in a nationwide election, which produced surprising results amid a historically low turnout.

The nationalist cleric’s success could be a setback for Iran, which has steadily increased its influence in Iraq — its most important ally in the Middle East — since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Sadr capitalised on growing resentment over Tehran-backed governments who failed to improve basic services and build hospitals and schools in a country devastated by the war against Islamic State and by sectarian bloodshed. It was a remarkable comeback for Sadr, who had been sidelined by Iranian-backed rivals and was regarded by US and Iraqi officials as an unpredictable maverick.

He reached out to dispossessed Shi’ites and marginalised Sunnis, and restored links with Sunni neighbours while keeping Iran at bay.

Sadr became a symbol of resistance to foreign occupation when he led two violent uprisings against US troops, prompting the Pentagon to call his Mehdi army militia the biggest threat to Iraq’s security. He derives much of his authority from his family. Sadr is the son of the revered Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, killed for defying Saddam Hussein. In his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr city people expressed concerns that Sadr would be outmanoeuvered in what are expected to be long, tough talks on forming a government. “New candidates have won. But they are unable to form a government because the previous politicians are foxes and aim to form big alliances to isolate the new blocs,” said a resident, Muied Hatim.

Winning the largest number of seats does not automatically guarantee that Sadr will be able to hand-pick a PM. Parties will have to align to form a bloc large enough for the parliamentary majority necessary to nominate a candidate. The government should be formed within 90 days of the results. “Your vote is an honour for us,” Sadr tweeted moments after the results were announced on Saturday. “We will not disappoint you.” — Reuters

Forming govt far off 

• Moqtada al-Sadr’s Marching Towards Reform bloc won 54 of the 329 seats in a major upset at a May 12 vote that saw a record level of abstentions as Iraqis turned their back on a widely reviled elite
• Sadr is looking to be the kingmaker and oversee the formation of a cross-sectarian, technocrat government from some dozen parties. But negotiations look set to drag out and it remains far from certain that Sadr’s group will claim power after the first vote