伊拉克什叶派萨德尔派在选举中领先

Hundreds of supporters of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets of Baghdad Sunday night, celebrating the announcement of partial results of Iraq's parliamentary elections.

Iraq's electoral commission announced that al-Sadr is the current front-runner in national elections, with official results from just over half of the country's provinces.

Al-Sadr did not run for elections, but he holds sway over a coalition ticket that won by a large margin in the capital Baghdad.

An alliance of candidates with close ties to Iraq's powerful Shiite paramilitary groups came in a close second.

Al-Sadr's victory would be a significant blow to the re-election campaign of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

If the results hold, al-Sadr, a strident critic of the United States, could have a major say in who is Iraq's next leader.

The electoral commission said that results of the election to fill the country's 329-seat parliament are expected within two days.