A Shiite Muslim coalition failed to win a majority in Iraq's National Assembly election, meaning the nation may be run by a coalition administration formed around a secular figure such as interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. The United Iraqi Alliance, backed by Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, won 47.6 percent of the vote in the Jan. 30 election, the Independent Electoral Commission announced at a news conference broadcast from Baghdad today by networks including Qatar-based al-Jazeera. A two-thirds majority is required to form a government. (Bloomberg)
Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims won nearly half the votes in the nation's landmark Jan. 30 election, giving the long-oppressed group significant power but not enough to form a government on its own, according to results released Sunday. (AP)
And a similar story from Al Jazeera: An alliance of Shia groups won the most votes in Iraq's 30 January election, but the percentage it received - 47.6% - was lower than many expected, according to the final vote tally released on Sunday.
A list of the political alliances receiving the most votes in Iraq's Jan. 30 national elections: ... (AP)
Poll turnout low in Iraq's Sunni provinces. Only 2 per cent of eligible Iraqis in the Sunni Arab-dominated Anbar province voted in Iraq's elections, and only 29 per cent in the mainly Sunni Salahadin province, the final tally released on Sunday showed. (ABC News Online)
What next for Iraq's new lawmakers? What's next for the incoming members of Iraq's 275-member National Assembly? (AP via Boston Globe)
