Maliki prepares for Iraqi coalition as counting goes on
But the outcome from the key parliamentary vote remained uncertain, with election officials still counting ballots nearly a week after Iraqis went to the polls.
Partial tallies so far have been released from seven of Iraq's 18 provinces, excluding Baghdad. Results from one province showed an Iran-backed Shia religious coalition in the lead, but also gave another province to prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. Though his secular challenger, Ayad Allawi, was as of Thursday ahead in two provinces north of Baghdad, it is said that al-Maliki's coalition has a narrow edge overall, though not an outright majority
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Hide AdThe electoral commission said that the Iraqi National Alliance (INA), a coalition of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and followers of Muqtada al-Sadr, had the lead over al-Maliki in Maysan province, which borders Iran.
Abbas al-Bayati, a member of al-Maliki's coalition, said yesterday the alliance had created a committee to open talks with other blocs and expected the group would need two or three other coalitions to form a government.
Rend al-Rahim, a candidate with Allawi's Iraqiya coalition, said yesterday that the group had filed 32 complaints of fraud.