Election officials say about 1,000 people have sent complaints about the election process in Iraq, after preliminary results from 5 of 18 provinces reveal a close contest between the nation’s prime minister and a secular competitor.
International Relations Professor Gerardo Munck talks to ATVN's Christianne Rojo about the Iraq election.
A third of the votes have been counted so far. Results show Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leads the Shiite provinces of Babil and Najaf, while his rival, former Premier Ayad Allawi, won most of the votes in Diyala and Salahuddin.
This comes after religious Shiite political leaders watched al-Maliki gain early victories in two southern provinces. The latest results show Allawi drew Sunni support north of Baghdad. The votes in Baghdad have yet to be counted and released.
In hopes of being seen as an inclusive leader, al-Maliki quit the main Shiite coalition last year. He decide to create the State of Law Alliance, which includes some Sunni groups.
Allawi’s coalition, Iraqiya, complained about fraud in Sunday’s election. It argued there were “unjustifiable and illegal procedures to distort the will of the people.”
The Independent High Electoral Commission released the partial results today in Baghdad. Tallies from the rest of the nation are expected to be released in the next few days.
