BAGHDAD: Polls have closed across Iraq on Saturday evening in the first national election since the country declared victory over the so-called Islamic State group. The vote the fourth since the 2003 US-led toppling of Saddam Hussein was marked by reports of low turnout and irregularities.

Results are expected within the next 48 hours according to the independent body that oversees Iraq’s election, but negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government are expected to drag on for months.

Voting began early Saturday morning in a contest that had no clear front-runner after weeks of official campaigning. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s stiffest competition came from political parties with closer ties to Iran.

Iraq’s most senior Shia cleric spoke out on the issue of voter participation Saturday afternoon, encouraging Iraqis to vote “to prevent the arrival of a corrupt parliament”. “The lack of participation will give the opportunity for others to reach parliament and they will be very far from the aspirations of the people,” said Sheikh Abdul-Mahdi al-Karbalai, the representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, on local Iraqi television from Karbala. Sistani has repeatedly encouraged Iraqis to vote into power on Saturday a new political class to combat corruption.

For those who did attempt to vote, some in Baghdad complained of voting irregularities at polling stations linked to a new electronic voting system implemented for the first time this year in an effort to reduce fraud.

In central Baghdad, voters supporting al-Abadi said they are doing so because they give him credit for Iraq’s military victory over IS. Al-Abadi “took revenge” for civilians killed in insurgent attacks in Iraq “with the victory over Daesh”, said 71-year-old Felihah Hassan, using the Arabic acronym for IS.

After IS overran nearly a third of Iraq in the summer of 2014, the group launched waves of suicide bombings targeting civilians in Baghdad and other pockets of government-controlled territory.

With support from the US-led coalition and Iran, al-Abadi oversaw a grueling war against the extremists and declared victory over the group in December.

Despite al-Abadi’s military achievements, Iraq continues to struggle with an economic downturn sparked in part by a drop in global oil prices, entrenched corruption and years of political gridlock.

In addition to al-Maliki, al-Abadi’s most powerful competition is from an alliance of candidates with close ties to the country’s powerful, mostly Shia paramilitary forces, and an alliance led by influential Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Some Sunnis voting on Saturday said they are hopeful this election will help Iraq move beyond sectarian politics and become more inclusive.

In total there are 329 parliament seats at stake, with nearly 7,000 candidates from dozens of political alliances.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2018