Iraq to probe voting irregularities in May 12 elections
Iraq's prime minister has ordered the creation of a high-powered commission to look into alleged irregularities in the parliamentary elections held May 12, the first sign that authorities are taking seriously complaints about the vote.
An official statement said an emergency Cabinet meeting held late on Thursday and chaired by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi named the country's anti-graft chief as the commission's leader. Assisting him will be the heads of five, top level security and oversight agencies.
There have been complaints of irregularities in the balloting earlier this month in which an electronic voting system was used for the first time.
A manual recount of votes in some areas has been called for, a request that has been rejected by the election commission as illegal.
