Iraqi parliament orders manual recount of May 12 election
BAGHDAD – The Iraqi parliament has approved a bill that orders a manual recount of all votes from all polling stations in Iraq’s May 12 parliamentary election.
The parliament also rejected results from advance polls for security personnel in the Kurdistan Region.
Parliament convened on Wednesday to discuss amendments to the country’s electoral law after widespread reports of fraud and accusations that the electoral commission had not adequately handled the complaints.
The parliament also decided to suspend the electoral commission, appointing nine judges in place of the commissioners. They will also appoint a judge to replace each provincial representative of the electoral commission.
“The decisions made today were historic. I congratulate our voters. The quorum for the session was met. There was no problem. The votes will be recounted manually. Those who didn’t engage in fraud should be happy,” Muthana Amin, head of the KIU faction in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw.
The leader of the New Generation Movement, Shaswar Abdulwahid, also welcomed the decision, describing it as “the first step toward a right direction” to rectify mistakes made by the “rigged” electronic system.
The State of Law alliance headed by Nouri al-Maliki supports the manual recount as a necessity "so that fraud is not committed again," it announced in a statement.
The KIU, Gorran, and Komal – three Kurdish parties that have rejected the election results because of fraud – attended the session. The PUK and KDP did not attend.
In two previous sessions, parliament discussed the bill, but was unable to hold a vote because not enough members showed up. For the vote on Wednesday, 173 MPs attended, according to information on the parliament’s website.
The PUK has disputed the vote however.
“Today’s parliamentary session along with its decisions is illegal,” PUK MP Rebwar Taha told Rudaw.
“The speaker of the parliament and the majority of the MPs who attended the meeting were from parties who lost in the election,” he complained.
He characterized the parliament’s decision as “chauvinistic” and intended to “reduce Kurdish votes in Kurdistani areas.”
The PUK won 18 seats, six of them in disputed Kirkuk province.
The party has filed a lawsuit in Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court. Taha said they will respect decisions from the court and the electoral commission.
The legislation commits the electoral commission to a manual recount of all votes across the country under the supervision of the country’s high judicial council and in the presence of party representatives and the UN.
According to the bill, votes cast by the diaspora and IDPs will be annulled.
“Protests against the election outcome are increasingly intensifying and fraudulent acts are becoming increasingly apparent. There is a request that procedures against the commission should be taken,” Zana Rostaye, an MP with Komal, told Rudaw ahead of the session.
He said 179 parliamentarians had given their written commitment that they will attend the session on Wednesday, Rostaye said, claiming that some parties have tried to dissuade MPs from backing the bill.
“Today is a great national and historic day to rectify the direction of the election process and politics, which unfortunately was distorted and insulted. We want to find a solution to the crisis. We are not here to annul the election outcome, but rectify it,” he explained.
Iraq’s High Judicial Council announced on Tuesday that the election law did not permit a manual recount.
Updated at 10:22 pm
The parliament also rejected results from advance polls for security personnel in the Kurdistan Region.
Parliament convened on Wednesday to discuss amendments to the country’s electoral law after widespread reports of fraud and accusations that the electoral commission had not adequately handled the complaints.
The parliament also decided to suspend the electoral commission, appointing nine judges in place of the commissioners. They will also appoint a judge to replace each provincial representative of the electoral commission.
“The decisions made today were historic. I congratulate our voters. The quorum for the session was met. There was no problem. The votes will be recounted manually. Those who didn’t engage in fraud should be happy,” Muthana Amin, head of the KIU faction in the Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw.
The leader of the New Generation Movement, Shaswar Abdulwahid, also welcomed the decision, describing it as “the first step toward a right direction” to rectify mistakes made by the “rigged” electronic system.
The State of Law alliance headed by Nouri al-Maliki supports the manual recount as a necessity "so that fraud is not committed again," it announced in a statement.
The KIU, Gorran, and Komal – three Kurdish parties that have rejected the election results because of fraud – attended the session. The PUK and KDP did not attend.
In two previous sessions, parliament discussed the bill, but was unable to hold a vote because not enough members showed up. For the vote on Wednesday, 173 MPs attended, according to information on the parliament’s website.
The PUK has disputed the vote however.
“Today’s parliamentary session along with its decisions is illegal,” PUK MP Rebwar Taha told Rudaw.
“The speaker of the parliament and the majority of the MPs who attended the meeting were from parties who lost in the election,” he complained.
He characterized the parliament’s decision as “chauvinistic” and intended to “reduce Kurdish votes in Kurdistani areas.”
The PUK won 18 seats, six of them in disputed Kirkuk province.
The party has filed a lawsuit in Iraq’s Federal Supreme Court. Taha said they will respect decisions from the court and the electoral commission.
The legislation commits the electoral commission to a manual recount of all votes across the country under the supervision of the country’s high judicial council and in the presence of party representatives and the UN.
According to the bill, votes cast by the diaspora and IDPs will be annulled.
“Protests against the election outcome are increasingly intensifying and fraudulent acts are becoming increasingly apparent. There is a request that procedures against the commission should be taken,” Zana Rostaye, an MP with Komal, told Rudaw ahead of the session.
He said 179 parliamentarians had given their written commitment that they will attend the session on Wednesday, Rostaye said, claiming that some parties have tried to dissuade MPs from backing the bill.
“Today is a great national and historic day to rectify the direction of the election process and politics, which unfortunately was distorted and insulted. We want to find a solution to the crisis. We are not here to annul the election outcome, but rectify it,” he explained.
Iraq’s High Judicial Council announced on Tuesday that the election law did not permit a manual recount.