Here's what we know about final results of Iraq's provincial elections
https://www.iraqidinarusd.com/2024/01/heres-what-we-know-about-final-results.html
The bottom line: Iran-backed Shiite parties strengthen their grip on power in Iraq's provincial elections.
In Iraq, Iran-allied political factions have strengthened their grip on provincial councils in Baghdad and parts of the Shiite heartland, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission.
Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, the main rival of pro-Iran political parties, and others boycotted Iraq's first provincial council elections in over a decade last week.
According to the commission, 41 percent of voters turned out.
94.4% of the votes were counted the day after the elections, and the seats won by political parties did not change significantly.
In Baghdad, the State of Law alliance of former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki was followed by the Nabni (We Build) alliance of powerful Iranian-backed Shiite militias.
Mohammed Al Halbousi's Taqadum alliance dropped from first to third place in Baghdad.
The State of Law, Nabni, and State Forces alliance, led by cleric Ammar Al-Hakim, won in Qadissiyah, Muthana, Najaf, Babil, Dhi Qar, and Maysan.
They followed the Tasmim alliance in Basra, which is headed by popular governor Asaad Al Eidani. They also followed the Karbala Creativity Alliance in Karbala and the Beautiful Wassit Alliance in Wassit.
It also won seats in the Sunni-dominated provinces of Nineveh Salaheddin and Diyala, which have a mixed population.
The Kirkuk Is Our Strength Alliance, led by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, or the PUK, came first in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.
After a Sunni-Arab alliance, the Kurdistan Democratic Party moved to second place behind the PUK.
There were votes in only 15 of the 18 provinces. Three provinces form the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, which has its own autonomous system.
Since ISIS swept through nearly a third of Iraq in mid-2014, local elections have been postponed due to security concerns.
In October 2019, pro-reform protests erupted after the defeat of ISIS and were met with a harsh crackdown by the Iraqi government.
