Protests against Iraqi election results turn violent, 125 people injured

A large military force affiliated with the Law Enforcement Force was deployed around Tahrir Square and the Republic Bridge in Baghdad against possible protest actions.

A large number of protesters who did not accept the results of the October 10 elections in Iraq surrounded the high-security Green Zone in Baghdad and the international airport last night. It was stated that the security forces attacking the protesters used weapons. The protesters carried pictures crossed out by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kazimi.

It was stated that there were clashes between the protesters who wanted to advance towards the Green Zone gate and the security forces.

The Iraqi Ministry of Health announced that 125 people were injured in the protests in Baghdad, adding that 27 of the injured were civilians and 98 were security forces.

The results of the October 10 parliamentary vote showed that the bloc led by Muslim Shia leader Moqtada al-Sadr won 73 seats, thus maintaining its position as the largest group in Iraq’s 329-strong parliament.

The Conquest (Fatah) Alliance – the political arm of the multiparty Hashd al-Shaabi, a pro-Iranian former paramilitary force, won about 15 seats, according to preliminary results. In the last parliament, it held 48, becoming the second-largest bloc.

Iraq’s independent election commission received more than 1,300 appeals after the elections, lodged by the “Shia cooperation framework” – an ad hoc group consisting mostly of Shia groups that got poor results.

After an initial assessment, the commission dismissed the majority of the complaints, citing a “lack of evidence”, saying it would release its final decisions on the rest of the appeals before submitting them to the Supreme Court for final certification.