Iraq PM declares victory in general election

Iraq's incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has said that his coalition had won the country's general election in a speech addressed to the Iraqi people.

Casting the victory as one for all Iraqis, Sudani said in a televised speech on Wednesday, "We congratulate you on your coalition winning first place in the parliamentary elections".

He also added that the negotiations will begin to form a government.

Earlier, the country’s electoral commission said that the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, headed by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, took a strong lead in Iraq’s parliamentary elections.

Preliminary results announced by the commission showed that al-Sudan’s coalition got 411,026 votes, out of more than 4 million voters, followed by the Progress Party, led by former Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, and the State of Law Coalition, headed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The commission said that voter turnout in the elections reached 56.11 percent nationwide.

Sudani was seeking a second term in Tuesday's election, but many disillusioned young voters saw the vote simply as a vehicle for established parties to divide up Iraq's oil wealth.

However, Sudani tried to cast himself as the leader who could finally make Iraq a success after years of instability, arguing he had moved against established parties that brought him to power.

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Source: TRT