Iraq nationalist cleric on course to win polls
BAGHDAD: Nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a long-time adversary of the US, led in Iraq’s parliamentary election with more than half the votes counted on Monday, the electoral commission said, in a surprise turn of fortune for the Shia leader.
In the first election since Islamic State was defeated in the country, Shia militia chief Hadi al-Amiri’s bloc, which is backed by Iran, was in second place, while Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, once seen as the frontrunner, trailed in third position.
Unlike Abadi, a rare ally of both the US and Iran, Sadr is an opponent of both of the countries which have wielded influence in Iraq since a US-led invasion toppled Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein and ushered the Shia majority to power.
Sadr has led two uprisings against US forces in Iraq and is one of the few Shia leaders to distance himself from Iran.
Potraying himself as an Iraqi nationalist, Sadr has a zealous following among the young, poor and dispossessed.
He cannot become prime minister as he did not run in the election, though his apparent victory puts him in a position to pick someone for the job.
But even then his bloc might not form the next government since whoever wins the most seats must negotiate a coalition in order to have a majority in Parliament.