The Heat: Iraq’s parliamentary election

The Heat

Iraq election

Iraq’s parliamentary election in May was supposed to determine the next government.

Marred by low voter turnout and charges of fraud, the vote is now subject to a recount of suspect ballots.

Preliminary results show the bloc led by radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a longtime foe of the United States, finished first.

Iraq’s current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a U.S. ally, was third. Analysts said Sadr alone won’t have enough seats in parliament to form a government and determine the next Prime Minister.

With the unfinished recount, lots of intrigue remains.

CGTN’s Nathan King reports on the situation.

Follow Nathan King on Twitter@nathanking

  • Ahmed Rushdi is a senior policy adviser to the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, and the Director of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation.
  • Majeed Gly is a journalist and political analyst with the Rudaw Media Network.
  • Jonathan Broder is an award-winning journalist who spent two decades as a correspondent in the Middle East and Asia.
  • Mazin Al-Eshaiker served as an adviser to the Prime Minister of Iraq and currently heads the Injah Development Center, an economic policy group.

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