Iraqi court ratifies parliamentary election results

Jun 1, 2010, 10:47 GMT

Baghdad - After months of political tension, Iraq's federal court Tuesday ratified the final results of the March 7 parliamentary elections.

The announcement came from Judge Medhat al-Mahmoud, president of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council.

The results of the March 7 elections showed former prime minister Iyad Allawi's Iraqiya List in the lead, having won 91 seats in the 325-member parliament.

Current prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition came in second place with 89 seats.

Allawi insists he has the right to form a new government because his party won the highest number of seats.

However, al-Maliki claims he has the right to form the government after his recent alliance with the Iraqi National list. Together, they form the largest faction in parliament with 159 deputies.

Yet, that number is still four seats short of a working majority. Neither side can agree on who will head the government.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is expected to call parliament to session in 15 days, after which negotiations to form the government will officially begin.