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…)

Saddam Hussein weighed nuclear ‘package’ deal in 1990

As troops massed on his border near the start of the Persian Gulf War, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein weighed the purchase of a $150 million nuclear “package” deal

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…)

Jumblatt salutes the Iraqi people for the historic democratic elections

Democratic Gathering bloc leader MP Walid Jumblatt saluted the Iraqi people “for the historic democratic elections that took place yesterday despite the violence .”

He said in his weekly column in the Al Anbaa newspaper: “The Iraqis have managed to challenge the criminals who want to hit Iraq’s unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity through suspicious bombings that do not distinguish between sects and religions and regions, aimed only to intimidate voters and disrupt the democratic process” . (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…)

World leaders praise bravery of Iraqi voters

Polling stations reported a strong turnout of voters on Sunday despite 38 deaths across the country and a security presence which included 200,000 police and soldiers in the capital alone. (more…)

Khamenei ordered rigging of ballots in Iraq, report

According to reliable information, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered the regime’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the terrorist Quds Force in Iraq to do their maximum in rigging the ballots by exchanging boxes in various parts of Iraq immediately after the closing time (more…)

Analysis: Neighbors eye Iraq elections

In the run-up to today’s historically significant parliamentary polls in Iraq, a a question that begs asking is where do Iraq’s neighbours stand on these critical elections.