Maliki leads in early Iraq vote tally

A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki was winning in the all-important capital and a Shiite province in the south, according to a partial tally of election results released Saturday.

If the Baghdad trend continues, the results would be a substantial boost to Maliki and his chances to retain the prime minister’s post. Baghdad accounts for 70 of the parliament’s 325 seats and would go a long way toward deciding who will be tasked with forming a government that will oversee the country as U.S. forces go home. (more…)

Iraq: Allawi accuses Maliki of fraud in bid to retain power

The threat of violent protests loomed over Iraq yesterday as the country’s leading opposition politician said that there was widespread fraud in last week’s elections. (more…)

Official : Some Iraqi election results coming Wednesday

Iraq’s electoral commission said Tuesday that it would announce partial results of parliamentary elections on Wednesday, providing an incomplete picture of the vote that will nevertheless provide the broad outlines of the country’s political landscape. Party officials have acknowledged that a relatively small number of seats may separate Iraq’s leading coalitions, a sign that negotiations to form a new government could be protracted. Although the lists of candidates led by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and Ayad Allawi, a former prime minister, appear to be polling best, officials with a predominantly Shiite Muslim coalition predicted they would come in third and perhaps even second. (more…)

Official: Iraq election turnout 62%

The voter turnout in Iraq’s general elections was 62%, officials said, despite attacks that killed 38 people.

Preliminary results are not expected for several days but the turnout figure is down from the 75% who voted in the 2005 general elections.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s State of Law Coalition is widely expected to win the most seats.

But it is unlikely one party will form a government alone and there may be months of negotiations on a coalition.

Officials from the Independent High Electoral Commission estimated the turnout in Sunday’s elections was 62% of the 19 million eligible voters. (more…)

Gates: Surprisingly little violence in Iraq vote

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he sees surprisingly little violence associated with the Iraq elections and that security improvements have forced al Qaeda-linked militants to change tactics. (more…)

Thousands of Iraqi expatriates vote in election

Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi expatriates have begun voting ahead of the main polling day for the country’s general election on Sunday.

The United Nations refugee agency estimates around 2 million Iraqis live abroad, the bulk leaving after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The largest number of Iraqi expats live in neighboring Jordan and Syria.

Friday is also the last day of campaigning in Iraq, amid pre-election violence and heavy security.

The Iraqi election commission says there are polling stations in nearly 60 cities worldwide and voting is staggered over three days.

Expat votes cast in Jordan and Syria could play a deciding role in a tight election race, counting for around 10 seats in the 325-member parliament, which will form the next government.

Estimates on how many Iraqis live in Syria vary – figures range from 300,000 to 1.2 million.

Many are refugees and some oppose the government of current Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. In this election, opponents of the prime minister have been urging the expat community to go out and vote.

Reporting from Damascus, the BBC’s Natalia Antelava says some Iraqis living in Syria criticize Mr Maliki for ignoring their problems, for failing to secure their return and for deepening Iraq’s sectarian divisions.

Among Iraqi expatriates in Syria there are many Sunnis Arabs and many former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party.

Many say that it is too dangerous for them to return to Iraq while it is ruled by a Shia prime minister, our correspondent says.

She says that for his part Mr Maliki believes former Baathists are trying to undermine security gains made by his government by staging attacks back in Iraq.

Tight security

The elections are seen as a crucial test for Iraq’s national reconciliation process ahead of a planned US military withdrawal in stages.

There has been pre-election violence and insurgents have vowed to disrupt the poll. On polling day itself, more than 200,000 security personnel will be on duty in Baghdad.

Travel around the country has been restricted and the authorities have canceled all leave for security services.

On Thursday at least 14 people were killed in Baghdad as suicide bombers attacked two polling stations in different parts of the capital. Earlier in the day, a mortar attack on a crowded market killed seven.
Security forces, detainees and hospital patients were able to vote on Thursday. There was a reportedly high turnout, with estimates suggesting 800,000 people cast ballots.

On Wednesday, three suicide bombers attacked police and a hospital in Baquba, a city north of Baghdad, killing at least 30 people. BBC

Deadly attacks mar first day of elections in Iraq

Iraq opened its polls early on Thursday for tens of thousands of soldiers and police officers and other security workers, but a series of attacks in Baghdad aimed directly at them marred the first day of voting in the country’s parliamentary elections.
The attacks killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more, according to preliminary reports from Iraqi officials. (more…)

Postponing elections not an option in Lebanon

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday that any attempt to postpone the municipal elections is aimed at weakening the regime in Lebanon. The polls “should be held on time … so that we don’t lose faith in the regime,” Geagea said during a meeting with a visiting LF delegation from Zahle.

“We will use our constitutional right to stop any attempt by parliament to postpone the municipal elections,” he said. (more…)

Be beautiful and vote

A Lebanese activist holds a banner during a demonstration asking to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 near the Lebanese Parliament in Beirut February 22, 2010. Lebanese MPs voted against a proposal to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 during a parliamentary session held on Monday. The banner reads, “Be beautiful and vote. I am 18 years old, can i vote?” REUTERS/ Cynthia Karam

Parliament votes against lowering voting age to 18

The Lebanese parliament failed to adopt a draft law on lowering voting age from 21 to 18. While many MP’s vocalized support for the amendment, 66 abstained from voting. MP Marwan Hamadeh told the Voice of Lebanon radio station on Monday that he supports linking the draft law to lower the legal voting age to granting Lebanese living abroad the right to vote from their countries of residence. He added that the granting Lebanese emigrants the right to vote is as important as allowing Lebanese youth to cast their ballots.

“Abstaining from voting [on the draft law pertaining to lowering the legal voting age] is not to drop the proposal, rather it is to maintain the voting rights of Lebanese youth and emigrants,” Hamadeh said.

Youth activists held a sit-in in Riad Solh square to call for lowering voting age.

Speaker Berri adjourned the parliamentary session until 6:00 p.m. 15 other draft laws were adopted.