Alliances led by Iran-backed Shiite militias and former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki swept the local elections in the Shiite-dominated provinces of central and southern Iraq as well as Baghdad, despite low voter turnout, the country's electoral commission announced on Tuesday.
On Monday, Iraq held its first provincial council elections in more than a decade. Supporters of Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr – the main rival of Mr Al Maliki and Iran-allied militias – and others boycotted the voting.
The overall turnout was 41 per cent, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission, which announced only 94.4 per cent of the preliminary results.
Nabni (We Build) Alliance, which brought together powerful Iran-backed Shiite militias, came first in the provinces of Babil, Dhi Qar, Qadissiyah, Najaf and Maysan. It came second in Baghdad and Basra.
Mr Al Maliki’s State of Law alliance came first in the province of Al Muthana and second in Maysan, Qadissiyah, Karbala, Babil, Wassit, Dhi Qar and Najaf. It was third in Baghdad and Basra.
After serving two terms as prime minister between 2006 and 2014, Mr Al Maliki sought a third term, but he was forced out from office as ISIS swept through northern and western Iraq, amid a rapid collapse in security.
The State Forces Alliance, led by cleric Ammar Al Hakim, also performed well in the Shiite-dominated provinces compared to their performance in the 2021 national elections.
A notable exception came in the southern oil-rich province of Basra, where a list backed by popular governor Asaad Al Eidani came first.
Mr Al Sadr's move to boycott the elections has helped his rivals to strengthen their presence in these provinces as they did inside parliament when he ordered his supporters to resign and withdraw from the political process last year.
The election boycott “diminishes its legitimacy domestically and internationally, and reduces the influence of corrupt individuals in our beloved Iraq”, Mr Al Sadr told his supporters last month.
Among the Sunnis, the Taqadum Alliance led by ousted parliament speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi came first in his hometown of Anbar and the capital Baghdad. It also won seats in the Sunni-dominated provinces of Nineveh and Salaheddin, as well as Diyala, which has a mixed population.
Mr Al Halbousi's remarkable win will strengthen his political clout after his dismissal last month.
In the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq, the Kirkuk Is Our Strength Alliance, led by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, or the PUK, came first, followed by Arab and Turkmen alliances.
The PUK is one of the main two Kurdish parties. Its rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, came first in northern Nineveh province.
The highest turnout of 66 per cent was registered in the contested province of Kirkuk, which is claimed by Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen.
It was followed by the Sunni-dominated provinces of Salaheddin, north of Baghdad, and Anbar, to the west, with 59 per cent and 57 per cent respectively.
The lowest turnout was in the Shiite-dominated provinces in southern and central Iraq as well as Baghdad, mainly due to the boycott of Mr Al Sadr and the pro-reform activists.
The vote took place in only 15 of the 18 provinces. Three provinces, which form the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, operate under a separate autonomous system.
The local elections were last held in April 2013, and have been delayed since due to security concerns after ISIS swept through nearly a third of Iraq in mid-2014, but were eventually defeated.
This was followed by widespread unrest due to pro-reform protests which broke our in October 2019 and the harsh response by the Iraqi government at the time.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
RESULT
Leeds United 1 Manchester City 1
Leeds: Rodrigo (59')
Man City: Sterling (17')
Man of the Match: Rodrigo Moreno (Leeds)
Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
WHAT%20MACRO%20FACTORS%20ARE%20IMPACTING%20META%20TECH%20MARKETS%3F
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UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
The%20specs
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World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
The Porpoise
By Mark Haddon
(Penguin Random House)
Tour de France
When: July 7-29
UAE Team Emirates:
Dan Martin, Alexander Kristoff, Darwin Atapuma, Marco Marcato, Kristijan Durasek, Oliviero Troia, Roberto Ferrari and Rory Sutherland
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
RIDE%20ON
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
