Militia supporters end vote result protest in Iraq

Supporters of Iran-aligned militias who had staged a sit-in near the Green Zone in Baghdad ended their protest on Wednesday.

The demonstrators had set up camp in protest at the outcome of the parliamentary elections.

Hadi al-Ameri, who heads a pro-Iran coalition that lost seats in the 10 October vote, had contested the results in court.

But after Iraq's top court rejected his lawsuit, the protesters decided to pack up their tents and leave the Green Zone.

Final results announced by the electoral commission confirmed Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as the biggest winner in the vote.

He secured 73 out of parliament's 329 seats.

Al-Ameri's Fatah Alliance, which represents the Shiite paramilitary group known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, secured 17 seats.

That was down from 48 in the last elections.

The United States, the United Nations and others have praised the vote, which was mostly violence-free and without major technical glitches.

But unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud have cast a shadow over the election.

The protest by the militia supporters also increased tensions among rival Shiite factions that could threaten Iraq's newfound relative stability.