The Mutahiddoon Coalition in Iraq led by Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi issued a statement exposing vast fraud and election riggings, questioning the election results. The statement also calls on international organizations to probe into this matter.
The statement reads in part:
“The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the elections results, delivering a shock and blow to all citizens hoping for change and wishing for a country where justice would rule and cruelty would be set aside… what took place was a terrible whirlpool with government entities involved, and IHEC with its measures led to results that will not only challenge democratic activities and the will of the people, but also the opinion of those legitimized questioning election results before its announcement.
“The Mutahiddoon Coalition for Reform questions and undermines the precision and correct nature of the announced results, considering the below facts, with some being on the shoulders of the government, and others on IHEC.
– Lack of adequate environment for elections, including making a crisis out of the security situation in Anbar Province and carrying out military attacks that led to the displace of more than 600,000 citizens from their homes…
– Flooding areas of Abu Ghareib and displacing more than 200,000 citizens from their homes
– Depriving Muttahidoon Coaliton leaders from taking part in the elections for bogus reasons
– Security units taking action to limit citizens and preventing some from reaching polling stations
– Depriving thousands of displaced citizens from taking part in the polls due to no polling stations being present near their areas of residence
– No means to receive elections cards for tens of thousands of civilians due to a lack of adequate card distributing mechanisms and/or technical problems that led to elections cards being lost
– IHEC said 90% of the residents in the Baghdad beltway area took part in the polls, while these areas were being flooded and under security pressures, leading to a severe decrease in people taking part in the elections, and it is strange that in this region 80% of the people voted for the State of Law while those who are familiar with the statistics of the Baghdad beltway area know that residents of this area do not support the State of Law
– Lack of cooperation with political observers… refusing to send ballot boxes on the night of the elections to IHEC in Baghdad and other provinces, paving the path for rigging
– Dozens of polling stations being suddenly closed due to security and technical concerns, preventing tens of thousands of people to polling stations
– 23,000 people who fled to Kurdistan were not able to take part in the elections for not being informed their polling stations would be opened two days before the nationwide polls
– IHEC not being able to attract and facilitate the participation of thousands of people who fled from Anbar to Kurdistan provinces
– Lack of a serious approach regarding complaints on flagrant election rigging by a number of influential candidates and or those supported by the government, which led to serious changes in the election results
– Neglecting reports of international organizations, including the UN and civil society organizations and international observers that reported thousands of cases of rigging and fraud, which in a blatant manner undermines the health and transparency of the elections
– Two election cards being distributed to many voters, especially for security forces…
– Election cards distributed to deceased individuals, and these cards were not clearly and convincingly eliminate or set aside
– Not including areas in Abu Ghareib and Baghdad beltway in the elections due to flood waters…
– Security forces’ measures to threaten people and taking their election cards during inspections and attacks in Diyala and Baghdad beltway areas, in addition to attacks by militants and terrorist entities against most of the central and western regions such as Neinawa, Salahaddin, around Baghdad, and Kirkuk, and shelling and opening fire on polling stations, closing polling stations and not even opening many of the polling stations under bogus pretexts of terrorism and lack of employees
– Registering fraud and rigging, especially in the vote count
– Employees not being competent enough to check fingerprinting machines and cards
– Not permitting observers of other political parties to overview the process…
“What has been described above is just the tip of the iceberg of all the rigging and measures that took place during the elections and led to results that do not represent the will of the Iraqi citizen, and do not represent his/her opinion.
“Therefore, the Mutahiddoon Coalition for Reform calls for a comprehensive investigation under the supervision of Western and international organizations, especially the United Nations, to give credibility to the vote of the Iraqi citizen and for the righteous to receive their rights.”