Iraq’s Supreme Court rejects appeal to cancel election results

Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court has rejected a request to cancel the country’s recent parliamentary election results over allegations of voting irregularities.

This comes after to an absence of a quorum led the Iraqi Council of Representatives to fail on Sunday for the third time to hold a scheduled meeting to pressure the Electoral Commission to reverse the results of the recent elections.

The current Iraqi parliament continues to press the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) for a recount by manually counting the electronic votes after allegations of voting irregularities after a government committee proved that the voting apparatus used in the elections was not fail proof.

Even as only a few weeks are left for the current term of the Iraqi Parliament, controversy still surrounds Iraq’s political outcome following the parliamentary vote.

On May 17, the United Nations special envoy to Iraq Jan Kubis issued a statement, calling on the IHEC to carry out an immediate and thorough investigation into all complaints concerning the election.

The Iraqi government commissioned an investigation team to probe the irregularities. However, some parties and candidates who believe that they have not received their fair share of votes, are criticizing the investigative procedure.

Certain parties and individuals are currently accused of rigging and manipulating the election results. The latest was the indictment of parliamentary candidates Jawad al-Bolani, Qais al-Khazali, as well as his militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq.

Accusations against Bolani were refuted by a spokesperson for the al-Fatah alliance, which includes the Hashd militia (Popular Mobilization Units) factions as well as factions from Asaib Ahl al-Haq.

One-hundred deputies, including the Head of Parliament, signed the complaint asking the UN to supervise and recount the votes manually.

MPs who signed the petition are questioning the legitimacy of the next government. The inability to finalize an electoral outcome foreshadows a political crises or potentially a constitutional vacuum.

 

Source :  english.alarabiya.net

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