Shia Moslem holy man Moqtada
Tateral-Sadr
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...was declared on November 30 as the biggest winner of the election.
Al-Sadr’s movement won nearly a fifth of the seats — 73 out of the assembly’s total 329, well ahead of the 17 seats of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, the political arm of the pro-Iranian paramilitary network.
Hashed leaders have rejected the result — sharply down from their 48 seats in the outgoing assembly — as a "fraud."
Mohammed Majid al-Saadi, lawyer for the plaintiffs, told AFP at the court that the aim of the Hashed’s appeal was "to have the results annulled" because of "serious violations."
According to the Fatah Alliance, the electronic voting system had failed to recognize the finger print identification of many voters.
It has also protested at alleged failings of a new electronic machine used for the election and organized demonstrations.
Tensions over fraud allegations and violence culminated on November 7 in an liquidation attempt against Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, from which he emerged unharmed.
No group has claimed the attack.
UN special representative Jeanine Hennis has noted that "so far and as stated by the Iraqi judiciary, there is no evidence of systemic fraud."
After a final court ruling, parliament will hold its inaugural session and elect a president, who will in turn appoint a prime minister to be approved by the legislature.
In multi-confessional and multi-ethnic Iraq, the formation of governments has involved complex negotiations ever since the 2003 US-led invasion toppled former president Saddam Hussein.