Iraq faces uncertainty as parliament orders manual election recount
As the Iraqi parliament orders a manual recount of ballots, the Kurdish opposition that lost in the election May 12 pushes for a cancellation of the result, while the PUK is adamant that the outcome should stand.
The Iraqi parliament took an unprecedented step June 6 by amending the 2013 election law, allowing for the manual recount of all the ballots — almost 11 million — cast May 12.
However, a fire June 10 at a Baghdad warehouse storing some of the ballots appeared to show that a full recount might not be possible.
The move for a manual recount comes after weeks of accusations by Kurdish and non-Kurdish parties that widespread fraud was committed in the elections, in particular in the Kurdish areas in the north of the country. The recount could plunge the country into further instability and create a serious hurdle in forming the new government.
How did the parties that disputed the results manage to gather enough evidence to prove that widespread rigging was committed?
