Iraqi PM-led coalition tops Iraq election with 46 seats, commission says

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By Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s political bloc won the most seats in Iraq’s election, final election results showed on Monday, but a new government could still be months away due to wrangling to build a majority.

The next government will need to navigate the delicate balance between U.S. and Iranian influence. It must manage dozens of armed groups that are closer to Iran and answerable more to their own leaders than to the state, all while facing growing pressure from Washington to dismantle those militias.

Sudani’s list came in first with 46 seats in the 329-member parliament, the election commission said.

The Taqaddum Party, which draws support from Iraq’s mainly Sunni west and north, won 27 seats. Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law group won 29 seats, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) secured 26 seats, according to the results issued by the commission.

The final total turnout in Iraq’s parliamentary election reached 56.11%, according to the commission.

Parties in Iraq’s Shi’ite ruling alliance said after the results were announced that they consider themselves the largest bloc in parliament. In a statement issued after a meeting attended by Sudani, the alliance said it would move ahead with nominating a prime minister for the next phase.

Sudani had been seeking a second term in last week’s election, but many disillusioned young voters saw the vote simply as a vehicle for established parties to divide Iraq’s oil wealth.

However, he has tried to cast himself as a leader who could make Iraq a success after years of instability, arguing he had moved against established parties that brought him to power.

(Reporting by Muayad Hameed Suadi and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Editing by Toby Chopra and Lisa Shumaker)