Iraq polls: As counting begins, PM Abadi has likely edge

◗ Iraqis voted on Saturday in the first election since the defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants inside the country. Final results are expected on Monday

Baghdad, May 12: Prime Minister Haider alAbadi’s list appears to be leading in Iraq’s Parliamentary election, followed by influential Shia cleric Moqtada alSadr’s alliance, an election commission source and a security official told Reuters on Sunday.

The sources cited unofficial initial results.

Iraqis voted on Saturday in the first election since the defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria militants inside the country. Final results are expected on Monday. Turnout was 44.52% with 92% of votes counted, the Independent High Electoral Commission said — significantly lower than in previous elections. Results are due to be officially announced on Monday.

Mr Abadi, a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, was mainly concerned with fending off Shia Muslim groups other than Sadr's alliance, which are seeking to pull the country closer to Tehran.

Those rivals were his predecessor as prime minister, Nuri al- Maliki, and the leader of the main Shi'ite paramilitary group, Hadi al- Amiri, both closer than he is to Iran, which has wide sway in Iraq as the primary Shia power in the region.

Unofficial results compiled by Reuters reporters in southern provinces also indicated that Sadr, a firebrand cleric who led a violent uprising against US troops from 2003- 2011, appeared to be making a strong showing.

If the Sadr list finished second, that would mark a surprise comeback by the cleric. Sadr has a zealous following among the young, poor and dispossessed but has been sidelined by influential Iranian- backed figures such as Amiri. Sadr has kept Tehran at a distance.

Sadr has formed an unlikely alliance with communists and other independent secular supporters who joined protests he organised in 2016 to press the government to see through a move to stem endemic corruption.

He derives much of his authority from his family. Sadr’s father, highly respected Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al- Sadr, was murdered in 1999 for defying Saddam Hussein.