Iraq's Maliki group leads in parliamentary elections

Baghdad, May 19 (IANS) Tallies released Monday for Iraq's April 30 nationwide parliamentary elections show a strong lead by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's bloc, raising his chances to remain in the post for the third term despite fierce opposition and worsening security, according to election panel.

The country's Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the final results of April 30 general elections Monday, which showed that Maliki's State of Law Coalition won 92 seats out of 328 seats in parliament, but fell short of a majority needed to form the next government, Xinhua reported.

Maliki's State of Law Coalition has been campaigning under the goal of forming a governing majority, saying internal conflicts in the current power-sharing "partnership" government are the cause of Iraq's political, economic and security crises.

However, Sunnis, Kurds and many Shiite parties have objected to a third term in office for the incumbent Maliki, frequently accusing his Shiite-led government of pursuing a policy of hegemony and marginalising political partners in a bid to gain more power.

On April 30, some 63 percent of some 21 million eligible voters turned out across the country to vote for the 328-seat Iraqi Council of Representatives out of more than 9,000 candidates.

It was the country's first national elections since the withdrawal of US troops in 2011.