shia rivals of Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi have made big gains in Saturday’s parliamentary elections, partial results suggest.

With most votes counted, a bloc headed by cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and another led by a militia leader are ahead, voting officials are quoted as saying.

They suggest Mr Abadi’s governing alliance is running third.

The election was the first since the government declared victory over so-called Islamic State (IS) last year.

• The rise and fall of ‘Islamic State’
• The war against ‘Islamic State’ in maps and charts
• Iraq country profile

The full official results are due to be announced later on Monday.

The complex electoral system in Iraq’s 18 provinces suggests that the final make-up of the 329-member parliament is still far from decided.

Turnout in the election was 44.5% – much lower than in previous elections.

Iraqis voted for rival lists of candidates. Most are predominantly Shia or Sunni, though the Kurds have their own lists.

The early results reported late on Sunday suggests that Mr Sadr’s bloc was ahead. His supporters celebrated in Baghdad.

Mr Sadr came to prominence after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, as the leader of a group of young men in a largely poor area of Baghdad.

According to the reports, the group led by veteran militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, was in second place.