Just 40,000 votes separated Maliki's State of Law Alliance and Allawi's Iraqiya list nationwide, according to updated results based on 83 percent of ballots counted, as the incumbent's bloc alleged widespread fraud and demanded a recount.

The two groupings were on pace to garner 87 seats each in the 325-member Council of Representatives, according to an AFP calculation.

Meanwhile, votes cast outside Iraq and during special voting for the security forces, the sick and prisoners have not yet been tabulated by Iraq's election commission and could affect the outcome.

The election, the second since Saddam Hussein was ousted in the US-led invasion of 2003, comes less than six months before the United States is set to withdraw all of its combat troops from Iraq.

An ally of Maliki charged on Wednesday that the count, which has so far taken 10 days, had been plagued by widespread fraud and demanded a nationwide recount.

"There has been clear manipulation inside the election commission in the interests of a certain or a specific list," said Ali al-Adeeb, a State of Law candidate in the predominantly Shiite central province of Karbala.

"State of Law demands the counting process be repeated to be sure that there has been no manipulation."

Adeeb described Iraqiya's progress as "like a miracle".

His remarks were a sharp departure from Maliki's own just days earlier, when he dismissed allegations of fraud as "very small."

Iyad al-Kinaani, an election commission official, downplayed any allegations of fraud, telling AFP "there is no need to restart the counting process."

The work of the commission is "transparent and is done with great care because we know the importance of this step."

Overall, Maliki held a slim lead in the count, with 2,260,483 votes against 2,220,443 for Iraqiya. Results released late Tuesday had put Allawi ahead by less than 9,000 votes.

State of Law leads in Baghdad, which is the largest province and accounts for more than twice as many seats as any other.

It is also ahead in the southern oil province of Basra, the third biggest, as well as five other mostly Shiite central and southern provinces, but has failed to finish in the top three in all but one of Iraq's Sunni-majority provinces.

Iraqiya, on the other hand, was leading in four provinces, including the second biggest province Nineveh. It was also in a virtual tie for the lead in a fifth, Kirkuk, where it was ahead of a Kurdish bloc by around 600 votes.

It was placed in the top three in six predominantly Shiite provinces where Maliki was either first or second.

"The results announced yesterday (Tuesday) show that we have been in the lead since the beginning of the elections," said Haidar al-Mullah, an Iraqiya candidate.

"Iraqiya is in the lead because it represents Iraqi national identity."

The Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition led by Shiite religious groups, is set to come in third with 67 seats, according to AFP calculations, while Kurdistania, comprised of the autonomous Kurdish region's two long-dominant parties, is likely to have 38.

No other group is set to win more than 10 seats. Fifteen of the 325 seats in parliament are either compensatory or reserved for minorities.

Both State of Law and Iraqiya have said they have begun talks with rival blocs to form a government, with analysts warning that political groupings could still manoeuvre to form a coalition without either list.

Iraq's system of proportional representation makes it unlikely that any single group will clinch the 163 seats that would enable it to form a government on its own, and protracted coalition building is likely.

Complete election results are expected around Thursday. Final results -- after all complaints have been investigated and ruled upon -- are likely by the end of the month.

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