Shia Muslim scholar Muqtada al-Sadr\u2019s party has become the biggest winner in Iraq\u2019s parliamentarian election after it swept the vote and increased the number of seats the influential cleric holds in parliament, initial results and officials say.<\/strong><\/p>\n
On Monday evening, a count, based on initial results from a number of Iraqi provinces as well as the capital Baghdad, verified by local government officials, showed that Sadr\u2019s party, known as the Sadrist Movement, had managed to secure more than 70 of the 329-seat parliament.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Sadr’s office also said that the number was 73 seats, and local news outlets also published the same figure.<\/p>\n
Following the release of the preliminary results, the cleric broadcast a live speech on state television, declaring victory and promising a nationalist government free of foreign interference.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome all embassies that do not interfere in Iraq’s internal affairs,\u201d said Sadr, who opposes all foreign interference in Iraq, adding that celebrations would take place in the streets \u201cwithout weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Shia scholar, who has been a dominant figure in Iraqi politics since the US invasion in 2003, has boosted his power in the Arab country since coming first in the 2018 election, in which his coalition – the biggest bloc Sairoon – secured 54 seats.<\/p>\n
Sadr\u2019s party, however, is far from being able to form a government on its own and it needs to form a coalition with some other parties.
\nFormer Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who led Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and heads the State of Law Alliance, looked set to have the next largest win among Shia parties, initial results showed.<\/p>\n
READ ALSO: Tornadoes cause damage in Oklahoma; storms rock the central US<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n