Iraq: the highest judicial body refuses to annul the results of the legislative elections

The Federal Supreme Court, Iraq's highest constitutional body, on Monday (December 27th) rejected a complaint lodged by the former paramilitaries of Hachd al-Chaabi to overturn the results of the last legislative elections, an AFP journalist noted.

After the legislative elections of October 10, the Alliance of Conquest, the political showcase of Hachd al-Chaabi, lodged its complaint denouncing a poll marred by fraud.

The influential Tehran-backed party won just 17 seats - against 48 in the outgoing 329-member parliament.

Read also Iraq: pro-Iran retreat in legislative elections

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", said Judge Jassem Mohamed Aboud while reading the verdict.

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This does not mean yet that the court has officially ratified the results of the legislative elections, underlined one of the lawyers of the electoral commission, present at the hearing Monday.

He said another decision has yet to be taken to officially announce that the results have been endorsed.

Unmissable political actor

The elections were won by Hashd's big rival, the current Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr, who won 73 seats and becomes the first bloc in parliament, according to official results announced by the electoral commission. Despite its failure, Hachd al-Chaabi remains a key political actor, with the support of Iran and its 160,000 combatants integrated into the regular forces.

Leaders of the Conquest Alliance recently explained at a press conference the reasons for their complaint, detailing hiccups that occurred during the vote.

Citing expert reports from a German company commissioned by the electoral commission to assess the conduct of the vote, they recalled that the fingerprints of many voters could not be recognized during electronic voting.

They also pointed to the failures of an electronic device used for voting, the C-1000.