In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, March 24, 2010, Faraj al-Haydari, the head of Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), ridiculed PMOI’s interference in counting votes. Asharq Al-Awsat wrote:
As to rumors claimed by some candidates in the ‘State of Law’ and ‘Ad-Dawa Party’ list headed by al-Maliki regarding the PMOI’s interfering in the results of election and manipulating them, or as if the computers used in counting votes belong to the PMOI, the head of Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said, “This means turning the table over aimed at tarnishing the Commission’s job and what the citizens have done. I wonder what is the relation between us and the PMOI? The computers that we are using for entering data and counting the votes are the same machines that were used in the course of provincial council elections.” He added, “Some people say that the PMOI hacked the Commission’s website and changed the outcome of elections; this is so weird, because the computers that were used in counting the votes are not absolutely connected to the internet, and anyone with minimum knowledge of computer finds immediately it’s not possible.