May 20, 2018

BAGHDAD • A political bloc led by populist 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 yesterday.

But the possibilities for alliances to form a coalition government remain wide open, as none of the three leading groups won a majority in the 329-seat Parliament in the May 12 vote.

The election also saw record high abstentions with just 44.52 per cent turnout - the lowest since the first multiparty elections in 2005.

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https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/anti-us-clerics-bloc-wins-iraq-election