Secularist challenger Iyad Allawi's coalition won the most seats in Iraq's election, according to preliminary results yesterday, but the tight race foreshadowed long, divisive talks to form a new government.
The cross-sectarian Iraqiya bloc headed by Mr Allawi took 91 seats with the State of Law coalition led by Shia prime minister Nuri al-Maliki close behind at 89 seats, a result that highlighted Iraq's sectarian gulf following a vote Iraqis hoped would stabilise their country after years of war.
Mr Maliki said his second-place Shia group won't accept the results.
Mr Allawi, a secular Shia who served as prime minister in 2004-5 and was once highly critical of Shia neighbour Iran for meddling in Iraq, said in brief comments on television that he would extend "hands and heart" to all groups.
"For all who want and wish to participate in building Iraq, we will together bury political sectarianism and political regionalism," he said.
Nearly three weeks after the March 7th ballot, the preliminary results showed Mr Maliki taking ethnically and religiously diverse Baghdad and predominantly Shia southern provinces, while Mr Allawi dominated largely Sunni northern and western regions.
Celebratory gunfire rang out in the streets of Baghdad after the results were announced.
The Iraqi National Alliance (INA), a Shia bloc with close ties to Iran, was in third place with 70 seats, and the Kurdish alliance, a union of two powerful parties in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish north, finished with 43 seats.
The INA, an alliance which includes anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr currently studying in Iran, is negotiating a merger with Maliki's State of Law. Maliki said he was on the way to forming the biggest bloc in parliament.
The United State congratulated Iraq on its election and said there was no no evidence of widespread or serious fraud.
Reuters