BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr retained his lead in Iraq’s May parliamentary election, results of a nationwide recount of votes showed on Friday, positioning him to play a central role in forming the country’s next government.
Iraq’s Independent High Election Commission (IHEC) released the results of the recount on its website early on Friday. Parliament ordered the recount in June after widespread allegations of fraud cast doubt on the integrity of the ballot.
The IHEC said the results of the recount matched the initial results from 13 of Iraq’s 18 provinces.
The winning parties are still embroiled in negotiations over forming the next governing coalition three months after the vote, with no sign of an imminent conclusion.
The recount did not alter the initial results significantly, with Sadr keeping his tally of 54 seats.  Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s party will also have 42 seats.
The votes recount came following allegations of fraud which mainly revolved around the electronic voting machines used for the first time in Iraq’s elections.
The recount results pave the way for political parties to form a government. The Iraqi supreme court must now ratify the new results. Once ratified, the outgoing president must convene a parliamentary session within 15 days to begin the process of forming a coalition government.
The United Nations commended the manual recount of votes as "credible and transparent”. Alice Walpole, a UN envoy to Iraq, said Monday the UN had observed the process and found it to be "conducted in a manner that is credible, professional and transparent.”
"We are very pleased that it's been concluded and we look forward to the next steps in this process towards the formation of the new government," Walpole said after the recount concluded on Monday.