Friday, February 20, 2009

Iraq announces final results of provincial elections

The Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq (IHEC) announced on Thursday the final results of the landmark provincial elections.

The final results showed that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawlat al-Qanun (State of Law) coalition comes ahead in Baghdad and five southern provinces.

Maliki's best results were in Baghdad and Basra, where his coalition won 28 seats of Baghdad's 57 seats and 20 seats out of 36 in the oil hub city of Basra.

Earlier in February, preliminary results covering 90 percent of the ballot showed that Maliki's coalition came first in Baghdad and eight southern provinces.

Maliki's rival powerful Shiite Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), headed by Abdul Aziz Hakim, hardly regained power in the three Shiite provinces of Najaf, Maysan and Dhi Qar, where the final results showed that Maliki and Hakim divided equal seats.

On Jan. 31, millions of Iraqis headed to cast their ballots in polling stations across 14 out of the 18 Iraqi provinces to choose their leaders in provincial councils.

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