BAGHDAD (Reuters) -A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani came first in Iraq’s parliamentary election, two electoral commission officials with knowledge of the results told Reuters on Wednesday.
Sudani was seeking a second term in Tuesday’s election but many disillusioned young voters saw the vote simply as a vehicle for established parties to divide up Iraq’s oil wealth.
However Sudani tried to cast himself as the leader who could finally make Iraq a success after years of instability, arguing he had moved against established parties that brought him to power.
No party is able to form a government on its own in Iraq’s 329-member legislature, and so parties have to build alliances with other groups to become an administration, a fraught process that often takes many months.
The final total turnout in Iraq’s parliamentary election reached 56.11%, the electoral commission said earlier on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed and Muayad Hameed, Writing by Ahmed Elimam; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ros Russell)
