Iraq's Shi'ites eye new majority as results come in

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's ruling Shi'ite Islamists, at odds with Washington over human rights and ties to Iran, may hold on to a slim parliamentary majority despite a big turnout by minority Sunnis, partial election results showed on Monday.

At any rate it will be by far the biggest party.

Leaders of the United Iraqi Alliance, whose performance in government has been criticized by U.S. officials and by Sunni Arab rebels who accuse them of backing sectarian militias, said they would start informal talks on Tuesday with Sunnis, Kurds and other groups to try to form a national unity coalition.

In Baghdad, biggest of Iraq's 18 provinces and accounting for 59 of 230 parliamentary seats allocated by regional ballots, the Alliance won 58 percent in Thursday's election with 89 percent of the vote counted, the Electoral Commission said.

Though comparative data from January's vote, boycotted by Sunnis, were not available, the result showed its resilience in the capital, where Sunnis and secular groups are strong.

Results from nine other provinces where the bulk of the vote had been counted showed the Alliance dominant again in the southern Shi'ite heartlands -- in poor Maysan, for example, it outscored by more than 20 times the second-placed Iraqi National List led by secular former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi."
Reuters