Middle East News

Al-Maliki's coalition urges vote recount after "proof of fraud"

Apr 11, 2010, 13:06 GMT

Baghdad - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition called Sunday for a recount of the March election votes in five cities, including Baghdad, saying there is proof of fraud.

'We have conclusive evidence that there were fraud cases in the results in five cities, which led the coalition to lose 750,000 votes,' coalition spokesman Hajem al-Hosny told reporters.

'We are calling for a recount, and we are still waiting for the court ruling concerning the appeals we filed,' al-Hosny added.

Al-Maliki's coalition has asked a court to order a manual recount of ballots cast in the March 7 parliamentary election, results of which showed it narrowly losing the vote.

Results showed former prime minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya List winning 91 seats in the 325-member parliament, followed by al- Maliki's coalition with 89 seats. The National Iraqi Alliance followed with 70 seats.

Intense political jockeying has followed the results, as both al- Maliki and Allawi claim the right to form the new government.