Final results
could take a fortnight to emerge
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BBC-
Early results from Iraq's election suggest a tight contest may
be developing between Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and his main
rival Iyad Allawi.
Mr Maliki leads in two Shia
provinces south of Baghdad while Mr Allawi is in the lead in two
provinces to the north.
A BBC correspondent in the Iraqi
capital says both men were expected to do well in those places
and many votes are still to be counted.
But there have been complaints
about the count and some claims of fraud.
The partial results come four days
after balloting.
Final results for all 18 provinces
are not expected for a fortnight.
The Independent High Electoral
Commission's results showed Mr Maliki's State of Law coalition
leading in Najaf and Babil and Mr Allawi's secular Iraqiya
alliance ahead in Diyala and Salahuddin.
There were expectations that more
results would have been announced by now, and that has led to
growing questions over the process, our correspondent says.
Officials 'overwhelmed'
Iraqiya has listed a series of
alleged violations, saying some of its votes had been removed
from boxes and replaced by other ballots.
"Insistence in manipulating these
elections forces us to question whether the possibility of
fraudulent results would make the final results worthless. We
will not stand by with our arms crossed," a statement from the
alliance said.
The election commission says it
will look into complaints of fraud, but officials say they are
overwhelmed by the task of counting votes.
About 6,200 candidates from 86
factions campaigned for seats in the 325-member parliament.
Analysts say it is unlikely one
party will form a government alone and there may be months of
negotiations on a coalition.
Voter turnout was 62%, officials
said, despite attacks that killed 38 people on Sunday.
It was down on the 75% turnout
figure for the 2005 general election.
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