Middle East News

Allawi vows to work with all parties to form new government (Roundup)

Mar 26, 2010, 20:30 GMT

Iyad Allawi, leader of Iraq\'s Al-Iraqiya coalition smiles and holds up a sweet during a news conference in his office in Baghdad, Iraq on 27 March 2010. EPA/MOHAMMED JALIL

Baghdad - Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Friday he will work with all parties to form a new government, after his Iraqiya list won the most seats in the parliamentary election.

Allawi won 91 seats in the 325-seat parliament, only two seats ahead of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced.

The long-awaited results from the March 7 elections also showed that the Iraqi National alliance, a coalition led by Shiite religious groups, came third with 70 seats, while the Kurdish Alliance won 43 seats.

However, the shape of the new government is still unclear as no single group has won one third of the seats, forcing them to start talks about a coalition.

As Allawi vowed to cooperate with all parties in order to form a new government, his main rival, al-Maliki, said that the door is open for alliances with all political parties.

However, al-Maliki repeated his refusal of the results, saying these are 'not the final results,' referring to the three-day period to file appeals.

Despite describing the elections as 'transparent,' al-Maliki said that the outcome was unexpected by the Iraqi people and the political blocs.

In Washington, the United States congratulated the Iraqi people, government and candidates on their 'successful election.' PJ Crowley, spokesman for the US State Department, noted the 'overall integrity of the election,' based on observations by international observers and more than 200,000 domestic observers.

They found 'no evidence' of widespread or serious fraud, Crowley said.

Al-Maliki's coalition had previously said it will not recognize the outcome of the election without a recount. It warned of unrest and called for a manual recount of the national vote, after partial results indicated that Allawi had pulled ahead earlier this week.

Iraq's electoral commission has repeatedly refused to recount the national votes, saying that it is 'impossible, and would require several months of intensive work.'

Earlier on Friday, hundreds of the State of Law coalition supporters demonstrated in Baghdad demanding a recount.

Disputes between candidates over the outcome of parliamentary elections led authorities to tighten security in several provinces amid rising political tension and fears of violence in the country.

However, this did not prevent Iraqiya supporters from heading out to the streets to celebrate their victory. They were singing and dancing, while some were wearing the Iraqi flag and others joined in the cheering with their car horns.

Dozens of Allawi supporters gathered in front of his house before the final results were announced.

UN envoy in Iraq, Ed Melkart, described the elections as 'credible' and said that the 'overall election process has met reasonable demands and standards.'

The poll, which drew some 12 million voters despite deadly bombings, was the second since the ouster of former president Saddam Hussein in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Shortly before the results were announced, two bombs went off in a market north of the province of Diyala's capital, Baquba, killing 42 and injuring another 65, al-Arabiya channel reported.