Iraqi top court ratified the countries parliamentary election results. The elections were held in October. The court rejected complaints of irregularities filed by pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi, former paramilitary alliance
The court ruling has now paved way for the parliament to meet and elect a president who will, in turn, appoint a prime minister. The prime minister will then form a new government.
Iraq is trying to recover from years of war and jihadist violence but remains hobbled by political divisions, corruption and poverty.
The ratification follows a delay of more than two months since the October 10 legislative polls won by Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, a political maverick and former anti-US militia leader who opposes all foreign interference.
Sadr’s movement won more than a fifth of the seats — 73 out of the assembly’s total 329, well ahead of the 17 seats of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iran Hashed.
That was sharply down from the Alliance’s 48 seats in the outgoing assembly. Hashed leaders rejected the result as a “fraud”.
They took their case to court seeking “to have the results annulled” because of “serious violations”, their lawyer said earlier in December when the hearing began.
Judge Jassem Mohamed Aboud of the Federal Supreme Court on Monday said the tribunal “rejects the request of the plaintiffs… not to ratify the final results of the election”.
He declared the judgment “binding on all authorities”.
Later the court media officer announced that the body “has ratified the results of the legislative elections”.
(With inputs from agencies)
