ERBIL — After a bitter defeat of his party in the recent Iraqi parliamentary elections, a leader from the Iraqi Hezbollah called it “the biggest deception process”.
Abu Ali Askari, a senior leader of Kataib Hezbollah, issued a statement on Saturday to accuse the incumbent Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi of “treason”, saying he should be held accountable.
He claimed that the premier was involved in a fraud process designed by “the enemies” of Iraq.
The Iran-backed Shia militias, some of which have formed the so-called “Resistance Front” against the West’s influence on Iraq, performed significantly low in the elections.
Askari threatened that the situation in Iraq could deteriorate if the objection of the Resistance Front to the election results will not be taken into consideration.
“If the rights of the voters are not restored, the situation will go in a direction that no one will be pleased,” he added.
The biggest winner of the election in Iraq was the Sadrist Movement which has won 73 seats. In the Kurdistan Region, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) emerged victorious with 33 seats, more than double of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) which takes the second place in Kurdistan.
Soon after the election, Sadr said the militias operating outside the control of the state, should be dissolved. This has concerned the Hashd al-Shaabi who fear losing influence on Iraq’s political landscape if they lose arms.