Pro-Iran factions gain ground in Iraq's local elections

BAGHDAD

Pro-Iran factions made significant progress in Iraq's recent provincial council elections, advancing in several cities according to preliminary results.

The figures announced by the Independent High Electoral Commission on Tuesday suggested that the three main electoral lists with Iranian backing secured the largest number of votes, particularly in southern cities.

Among these Shia Muslim lists are the Nabni (We are Building) Coalition, which includes political extensions of Hashd al-Shaabi (Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces militia) and is led by Hadi al-Amiri, and the State of Law Coalition led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The Union of National Forces Coalition, led by former Premier Haider Abadi and Shia religious and political leader Ammar al-Hakim, came in third place in the elections held Monday, followed by the Amiri and Maliki coalitions in some southern cities.

In the capital Baghdad, the Progress party led by former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, a Sunni Muslim, came in first, followed by the Nabni Alliance, and State of Law coalition, which came in third. Al-Halbousi's party also topped the elections in Anbar province.

In the southern oil-rich Basra province, the electoral list led by Governor Asaad al-Eidani secured the highest percentage, obtaining more than 250,000 votes. In Wasit province, southeast of Baghdad, Governor Mohammed al-Mayahi led the elections, while the lists of Amiri and Maliki came in second and third in both provinces.

In Kirkuk, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party received the most votes, followed by the alliance led by Governor Rakan al-Jubouri, with a list that included Turkmen parties coming in third and the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) fourth.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala