Security forces combatted the 2019 protests with live ammunition and tear gas, killing more than 600 people and injuring thousands more within a few months.
Iraq saw record-low voter turnout numbers in its parliamentary election over the weekend, signaling the public's continued distrust of the country's government after the 2019 protests in which many were injured or killed by authorities, the Associated Press reported.
In late 2019 and early 2020, tens of thousands of activists and demonstrators took to the streets in Baghdad and southern Iraq to call for broad reforms and new elections, AP reported. The country's security forces combatted the protests with live ammunition and tear gas, killing more than 600 people and injuring thousands more within a few months.
More definitive results were expected later Monday, with groups drawn from Iraq's majority Shiite Muslim factions expected to come out on top as has been the case since 2003. Influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who was the major winner in the 2018 elections, was expected to sweep up more seats. Still, none of the parties were expected to win a clear majority, and negotiations to choose a prime minister tasked with forming a government were expected to drag on for weeks or even months.
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