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Maliki leads Baghdad poll count Maliki leads Baghdad poll count
(about 3 hours later)
Partial results for Iraq's elections show Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's coalition ahead in the crucial area of Baghdad, election officials say. Partial results from Iraq's election show Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's coalition ahead in Baghdad, which accounts for 20% of parliament's seats.
Results from across the country suggest a tight contest may be developing between Mr Maliki and his main rival, former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Although there are still no results from half of Iraq's 18 provinces, partial counts released so far this week show Mr Maliki leading in five.
Baghdad has 70 seats in the 325-member parliament, making results there key. He is followed closely by the former prime minister, Iyad Allawi, who heads a coalition of Sunni and Shia groups.
There have been complaints about the slow pace of the count for the 7 March polls, and some claims of fraud. There have been complaints about the pace of the count for the 7 March poll.
Final results for all 18 provinces are not expected for a fortnight, after which there is expected to be a long process of coalition-building. Final results are not expected for another fortnight, after which there is expected to be a long process of coalition-building.
Major prize Sectarian violence erupted as politicians took months to form a government after the last parliamentary election in 2005.
The election commission released its preliminary figures for Baghdad on Saturday, saying about 18% of the vote had been counted. Political manoeuvring
The BBC's Andrew North in Baghdad says the capital is the big prize in these elections, accounting for 70 of the 325 seats in the Council of Representatives.
So the early figures will be a boost to the prime minister, he adds.
With 18% of ballots counted, Mr Maliki's State of Law alliance was comfortably ahead with around 150,000 votes, followed by the Shia-led Iraqi National Alliance (INA) on 108,000, the Independent High Electoral Commission said.
Some 6,200 candidates campaigned for parliamentary seatsSome 6,200 candidates campaigned for parliamentary seats
The results showed that Mr Maliki's State of Law, a coalition which purportedly cuts across religious and tribal lines, was leading the mainly-Shia Iraqi National Alliance by some 50,000 votes. Mr Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc was in third place with 105,000.
Former PM Iyad Allawi's secular Iraqiya bloc was in third place. The electoral commission also announced on Saturday that the State of Law was leading in the southern Shia province of Karbala.
Winning Baghdad - which provides more seats to the Iraqi parliament than any other constituency - could give a major boost to Mr Maliki's chances to retain the prime minister's office. With about 10% of votes counted, Mr Maliki's coalition had about 16,000 votes, 9,000 more than the INA.
On Friday, the commission said Mr Maliki's bloc was leading in two Shia provinces south of Baghdad. The State of Law is now ahead in five of the nine provinces where partial results have been released. Iraqiya leads in the two main Sunni provinces of Diyala and Salahuddin, while the INA is ahead in one.
It said Mr Maliki's main rival, Iyad Allawi, was ahead in two provinces to the north of the capital. The Kurdistan Alliance, dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is leading as expected in Irbil.
About 6,200 candidates from 86 factions campaigned for seats in the 325-member parliament. Our correspondent says Mr Maliki's representatives are already talking with other parties on forming a new coalition government, but there have still been no results from key cities like Mosul and Basra.
Analysts say it is unlikely one party will form a government alone and there may be months of negotiations on a coalition. And allegations of fraud continue to hang over the process, he adds.
Voter turnout was 62%, officials said, despite attacks that killed 38 people on Sunday. Iraqiya has claimed ballots were dumped, nearly a quarter of a million soldiers were denied voting rights, and vote counts were fabricated.
It was down on the 75% turnout figure for the 2005 general election. About 6,200 candidates from 86 factions stood in the election. Voter turnout was 62%, officials said, despite attacks that killed 38 people.
A credible election is seen as crucial to US military plans to end combat operations this August, seven years after the invasion.