Iraq electoral commission confirms October election results

BAGHDAD (AP) — The final results announced by Iraq’s electoral commission have confirmed Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as the biggest winner in last month’s vote, securing 73 out of Parliament’s 329 seats. A Sunni party headed by Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi came in second with 37 seats. The results announced Tuesday also confirmed that pro-Iran factions — which had alleged voter fraud — lost around two-thirds of their seats in the Oct. 10 elections. Iraq’s election commission received more than 1,000 complaints following the elections lodged by Shiite groups alleging vote fraud. Appeal procedures resulted in only five seats being changed, with the overall result remaining more or less the same.