The Latest: Iraq prime minister wins vote in Mosul province
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The latest on Iraq's national elections (all times local):
11:45 p.m.
Iraq's national elections commission says Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has taken the largest share of votes in the province that includes the formerly Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
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It is the only province so far to give a plurality of votes to al-Abadi, who has performed poorly in this year's parliamentary elections. The elections were held Saturday, with low turnout.
Nineveh is Iraq's second largest province after Baghdad, which went to a list organized by the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr said in Tweet he was open to forming a coalition with al-Abadi to form a new government for Iraq.
Al-Sadr's list is leading the popular vote count, followed by a list linked to Iraq's predominantly Shiite paramilitary forces that fought alongside Iraq's army in the war against IS militants.
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The elections commission has announced results from 16 of Iraq's 19 provinces. It says it will announce the remaining results Tuesday.
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1:35 p.m.
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Widespread disillusionment with Iraq's current political class appears to have helped influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr become the early front-runner in national elections marked by record low turnout.
Partial returns of the 2018 vote — the first since Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group — were announced late Sunday by the Iraqi electoral commission and put al-Sadr's political alliance in the lead in four provinces, including Baghdad.
The election came as the country deals with the disenfranchisement of the country's Sunni minority. Of more than 2 million Iraqis displaced by the war, the majority are Sunnis. Also at issue is the influence of Iran on the country: Iranian-backed Shiite militias who played a key role in defeating IS and were allied with the Shiite-led Baghdad government made significant electoral gains.