Iraq’s electoral commission on Wednesday began a manual recount of votes from several polling stations where complaints were filed.
Final election results have yet to be announced almost three weeks after Iraqis cast their votes on October 10 to choose a new Parliament.
The delay comes after the commission received thousands of complaints from political parties, the public and candidates about early results that showed populist leader Moqtada Al Sadr was in the lead.
“Manual counting began at eight in the morning in the presence of political party officials and observers,” the commission said in a statement.
More than 2,000 ballot stations in various governorates are expected to manually recount the votes after the commission accepted appeals that opposed their results.
“Out of the 2,000 stations, 102 are from the northern province of Nineveh,” the commission said in a statement.
“Fifty observers and agents will be following up the progress of the recount,” said the statement.
On Sunday, the commission said it had assessed 483 complaints but rejected 461.
The 22 complaints that were accepted by the commission are distributed over 13 provinces and will be looked into, said the statement.
Next Monday is the deadline for the commission to finalise its review of the complaints.
Last week, the commission said it had received 1,372 appeals contesting the results.
Once all appeals are cleared by the Judicial Commission, the results will be sent to the High Federal Court for ratification, after which Iraqi President Barham Salih will have 15 days to call for the new Parliament to convene.
Initial results showed that Mr Al Sadr's party won a majority of 73 seats in the 329-member Parliament.
He campaigned as a nationalist as well as a critic of Iran and foreign intervention.
The commission said at least 167 parties and more than 3,200 candidates had competed for 329 seats.
Hundreds of supporters of Iraq's powerful Hashed Al Shaabi, a pro-Iranian former paramilitary force, began a sit-in near Baghdad's high-security Green Zone on Tuesday to protest “fraud” in the elections.
Last year, Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi called an early general election for June 2021, months before the planned date.
The decision was in response to demands from anti-government protesters, who since 2019 have staged mass public demonstrations. At least 600 people have been killed by militia groups and, in some cases, regular government security forces.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
more from Janine di Giovanni
Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier
ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan
UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
TO%20CATCH%20A%20KILLER
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDamian%20Szifron%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shailene%20Woodley%2C%20Ben%20Mendelsohn%2C%20Ralph%20Ineson%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5