Iraq PM and main rival projected to tie on seat count

US might bolster force in northern Iraq: general
Washington (AFP) March 16, 2010 - The US military may set up an additional headquarters in northern Iraq even after Washington scales back its forces by a September deadline, a top US general said on Tuesday. The possible move reflects US concerns that Arab-Kurd tensions, provoked by disputes over land and oil rights, are the biggest threat to Iraq's long-term stability. General David Petraeus, head of Central Command, told lawmakers that putting a headquarters in the country's volatile north was "something that we are looking at." "There's a possibility that we may want to keep an additional brigade headquarters, as an example, but then slim out some of its organic forces and some of the other organic forces elsewhere," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "And if indeed we think that there's a particularly fragile situation, say, in a certain area in the north, then we might do that," the general said. He said military headquarters were an important platform for US engagement with Iraqis.

But Petraeus said the military was still on course to reduce the US force to 50,000 by the end of August, under a target set by President Barack Obama. "We are on track to reduce that number to 50,000 by the end of August, at which time we will also complete a change in mission that marks the transition of our forces from a combat role to advising and assisting Iraqi Security Forces," Petraeus said. He said a large turnout for the March 7 elections in Iraq -- the second since Saddam Hussein was ousted in the US-led invasion of 2003 -- marked an important sign of progress since sectarian violence peaked in 2006-2007. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's bloc looked likely on Tuesday to form parliament's single largest grouping, after results showed the incumbent had maintained his hold on Baghdad. The Pentagon insisted earlier this month that the gradual withdrawal of American troops from Iraq was on schedule, despite a report that the US commander there wanted to slow the pace of the drawdown. A defense blog on the Foreign Policy website had reported that General Ray Odierno, the commander of US forces in Iraq, had told the White House he needed additional troops beyond the 50,000 limit to handle possible tensions in northern Iraq.

by Staff Writers
Baghdad (AFP) March 17, 2010
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his main rival Iyad Allawi were projected on Wednesday to win the same number of seats in Iraq's parliament in a dramatic tightening of the country's election race.

Maliki's State of Law Alliance and Allawi's Iraqiya bloc were both on pace to garner 87 seats in Iraq's Council of Representatives, with less than 9,000 votes separating the two nationwide, according to an AFP projection based on 79 percent of ballots cast.

But 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 yet dramatically 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.

State of Law leads in Baghdad, Iraq's largest province and accounting for more than twice as many parliamentary seats as any other, as well as in the oil-rich southern province of Basra, the third biggest in the country.

It is also ahead in five other mostly Shiite southern provinces, but failed to finish in the top three in all but one of Iraq's Sunni-majority provinces.

Allawi's Iraqiya coalition, on the other hand, was leading in four provinces, including Iraq's second biggest province Nineveh. It was also neck-and-neck for the lead in a fifth, Kirkuk.

He also placed in the top three in six predominantly Shiite provinces where Maliki came either first or second.

Overall, Allawi held a slim lead in the nationwide vote count, with 2,102,981 votes cast in Iraqiya's favour, compared to 2,093,997 for the State of Law alliance, a difference of just 8,984 votes.

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

No other group is projected to win more than 10 seats. Fifteen of the 325 seats in parliament are either compensatory or reserved for minorities and were not included in the projection.

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

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.

Complete election results are expected around March 18, and final results -- after all complaints have been investigated and ruled upon -- are likely by the end of the month.

"We need several more days to announce the final results," Qassim al-Abboudi told a news conference on Tuesday, explaining that the appeals process would take about two weeks after full results were published.

Opposition groups have alleged fraud in the election and the count, but Maliki dismissed the claims in televised remarks to Iraq's National Security Council broadcast late on Sunday, his first public appearance since his office announced on Thursday that he had undergone surgery for an unspecified ailment.

Election officials also downplayed allegations of fraud.

National election commission chief Faraj al-Haidari told reporters the number of complaints in the general election was less than half those filed during provincial polls in January 2009.

Security officials have expressed concern that a lengthy period of coalition building could give insurgent groups and Al-Qaeda an opportunity to further destabilise Iraq.

Their worries were illustrated when a double-blast suicide bomber targeting a military checkpoint and labourers killed eight people and wounded 28 other civilians on Monday, in Fallujah in Anbar province.

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Iraq PM tightens grip on Baghdad: updated results
Baghdad (AFP) March 15, 2010
Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki tightened his grip on key Baghdad province, updated election results showed on Monday, making it increasingly likely his bloc will form parliament's single largest grouping. His success in the capital, which accounts for more than twice as many seats as any other province, builds on his lead in seven provinces overall, and is a major boost for his bid to retain t ... read more

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