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Ruling bloc wins Iraqi Kurd poll Ruling bloc wins Iraqi Kurd poll
(about 2 hours later)
Iraqi Kurdistan's two-party ruling alliance has won 57% of the vote in parliamentary elections, preliminary results show. Iraqi Kurdistan's two-party ruling alliance has retained control of the autonomous region's parliament, taking 57% of the vote in elections.
Masood Barzani was re-elected president of the autonomous region with 69.6% of the presidential vote. Masood Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was re-elected in the presidential poll with 69.6%.
He said he hoped the elections would be a "first step to solving issues with Baghdad".
Tension has been high between the Kurds and the central government over the control of oil and disputed territory.
The reformist Change movement won 23% in Saturday's elections, the official results show.The reformist Change movement won 23% in Saturday's elections, the official results show.
Analysts say the Change coalition, led by Noshirwan Mustafa, put up stronger opposition than had been expected. Analysts say the coalition, led by Noshirwan Mustafa, put up stronger opposition than had been expected.
High tension Alleged irregularities
The election came at a time of high tension between regional groups in the Iraqi parliament over control of oil and land. The Change movement has shaken the establishment with its demand for an end to corruption and elitism.
The winning coalition partners are the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Robert Gates (right) met Mr Barzani to discuss the disputes with Baghdad
President Barzani, who heads the KDP, said he hoped the elections would be a "first step to solving issues with Baghdad". In addition, Services and Reform, a leftist-Islamic group, took 12.8% of the vote.
The PUK is led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Analysts say that the strong showing from the new groupings is likely to give Kurdistan its first credible opposition in parliament.
Elitism The winning coalition partners are the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
Analysts say that people were keen to see how many seats the reformists of the Change movement could take away from the KDP and the PUK. They did particularly poorly in the Suleimaniya area in eastern Kurdistan, where the Change movement made its biggest inroads.
The movement has shaken the establishment with its demand for an end to corruption and elitism. Change alleged there had been systematic voting irregularities in Dahuk province and in Irbil.
It was the first time the president of Kurdistan was being elected directly by popular vote. On Wednesday it raised the fraud allegations again, and said that it had done much better in the poll than the results showed.
Issues with Baghdad
The KDP-PUK bloc will see their majority cut by more than 20 seats in the 111-member parliament.
There are fears that, once US forces leave Iraq, the Kurdish tensions with Baghdad might escalate into violence.
In particular, the Kurds want control of the oil-producing region of Kirkuk.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates met Mr Barzani in Irbil on Wednesday, after meeting the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Tuesday.
His press secretary Geoff Morrell said Mr Gates had "reminded his hosts that we have all sacrificed too much in blood and treasure to see the gains of the last two years lost to political differences".
Mr Gates, he said, had urged both sides to try to settle their disputes before US forces left Iraq.
Mr Gates was accompanied by Gen Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq. On Tuesday, Gen Odierno called the dispute between the Kurds and the central government the "number one driver of instabilities" in Iraq.
He added that US officials were attempting to mediate between the two sides.