Iraqi president says canceling expat votes in parl’t elections “unconstitutional”
Iraqi President Fuad Masum
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi president Fuad Masum has slammed a decision taken by the Iraqi parliament to cancel results of expat votes in the parliamentary elections as unconstitutional, vowing to take legal action against it.
“The parliament’s decision dated May 28, 2018 to cancel election results in some governorates and to recount votes in other constituencies violates provisions of the Iraqi constitution and law of the Independent High Electoral Commission,” Sputnik quoted Masum as saying in a statement Wednesday.
He further pledged to take the opinion of the Federal Supreme Court on that issue.
On Monday, the Iraqi parliament decided, during a special session, to cancel the result of expat votes in the parliamentary polls, the first since the defeat of Islamic State in the country last year.
Also, the parliament decided to recount around 10 percent of the votes after cancelling the results from the internal refugee camps in regions like Anbar, Saladin and Diyala.
Last week, the Iraqi cabinet said it formed a panel to investigate alleged forgery in the elections that were held on May 12.
According to election results, a coalition of Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr won 54 parliamentary seats in the May 12 parliamentary polls, followed by a Hashd al-Shaabi-linked coalition (47 seats) and Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi’s Victory bloc (42 seats), according to the election commission.