BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Hundreds of supporters of Iraq’s powerful Hashd al-Sha’abi, or Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) – protested on Tuesday against “fraud” at recent parliamentary elections.
The Conquest (Fatah) Alliance, the political arm of the multi-party Hashd, won around 15 seats in the October 10 vote, according to preliminary results.
In the last parliament it held 48, making it the second-largest bloc.
Several hundred Hashed supporters gathered on a Baghdad street leading to an entrance to the high-security Green Zone, home to the U.S. embassy, other diplomatic missions and government offices, an AFP correspondent said.
“No to fraud, no to America,” supporters chanted.
The PMU demands the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country.
A 25-year-old man wearing a black Covid mask and sunglasses said he was protesting against electoral “fraud”.
“The objective of the fraud is clear... it is the dissolution of the Hashd,” he said, declining to be identified.
Hashd supporters have organized protests across the country in recent days.
The big winner in the vote, with more than 70 spots in the 329-seat parliament according to the initial count, was the movement of Moqtada Sadr, a Shia Muslim preacher.
Hashd leaders have rejected the results as a “scam” and said they will appeal, ahead of a final tally expected in the next few weeks.
On Saturday, several Shia parties toughened their tone, accusing the electoral commission of not correcting “major violations” in the vote counting, and blaming it for “the failure of the electoral process”, warning of negative repercussions on democracy.
The Hashd is still expected to carry weight in parliament through the cooptation of independent candidates and other alliances.