Allawi to form a government, Maliki contests election results

The alliance headed by former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi narrowly beat out incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s coalition in the 7 March elections. Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission announced the results Friday, two weeks after the polls.

Allawi celebrates his victory at a press conference in Baghdad on Saturday Reuters

"We will work with all sides, whether they won or did not win in the election, to form the next government," Allawi said after the results were announced.

He will have to form a coalition government, as his Iraqiya movement failed to win an outright majority in the Council of Representatives, with 91 out of the 325 seats, just two more than Maliki’s State of Law Alliance.

“Iraqiya will open its heart to all political forces and all those who want to build Iraq, and we will together bury political sectarianism," Allawi said in another interview.

But Maliki, who has alleged voting irregularities and has called for a manual recount of the votes, refused to accept the results, calling them preliminary.

"The election results are not final," he told a press conference.

The US ambassador to Baghdad, Christopher Hill, and General Ray Odierno, the top American military commander in Iraq, said in a joint statement that they stood behind the results.

"We support the findings of international and independent Iraqi observers, who... have found that there is no evidence of widespread or serious fraud," they said.

Results of 7 March election

Out of 325 seats in the Council of Representatives:
- Iraqiya - Iraqi National Movement: 91
- State of Law Alliance: 89
- Iraqi National Alliance: 70
- Kurdistania (Kurdistan Alliance): 43
- Goran: 8
- Tawafuq: 6
- Iraqi Unity Alliance: 4
- Islamic Union of Kurdistan: 4
- Jemaa Islamiya: 2
Minority results:
- Rafidain (Christian): 3
- Chaldean Popular Council (Christian): 2
- Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress (Yazidi): 1
- Mohammed Abdullah (Shabak): 1
- Khalid Amin Roumi (Sabean): 1

Parties have three days to submit complaints about the results, which the election commission will investigate. It could take up to two weeks for the Iraq Supreme Court to certify the results.

Allawi will have 30 days to form a government with a 163-seat majority. If he fails to do so, the President will choose the leader of another bloc to form a coalition.

A Shia Muslim, Allawi ran on a secular platform and received many Sunni votes. His alliance includes Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi.

With strong opposition from Malawi and his State of Law alliance, it may take Allawi a while to form a coalition. Security officials say this could allow insurgents and Al-Qaeda time to further destabilise the country.

On Friday, before the results were announced, 42 people were killed in two bomb attacks in the central town of Khales.