BAGHDAD-A populist coalition organized by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr emerged as the front-runner Monday with more than half the vote counted in Iraq's national elections.
Partial returns from Saturday's balloting-the first since Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State militant group-were announced by the country's electoral commission and put al-Sadr's political alliance in the lead in six provinces, including Baghdad.
Remembered for leading an insurgency against U.S. forces and inciting sectarian bloodshed against the Sunni population, al-Sadr has in recent years sought to recast himself as a populist, railing against corruption and failing services and striking a political alliance with Iraq's secularists and Communist Party.
None of the competing blocs appears on track to win a majority in parliament and name a prime minister.