Iraq electoral panel certifies poll results

The panel allocated 140 seats to the clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance, giving them a majority in the new parliament.

Iraq's electoral commission certified the results of the country's January 30 elections on Thursday and allocated 140 seats to the clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance, giving them a majority in the new parliament.

HT Image

The allocation sets the stage for the first meeting of the new National Assembly, which will be in power for 10 months and draft a new constitution.

The first order of business will be to elect a president and two vice presidents to largely ceremonial positions.

The president and vice presidents will then name a prime minister, an appointment that will be worked out in advance by the largest parties in the National Assembly.

The commission first announced results from the ballot on Sunday, saying the clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance scooped 48 per cent of the vote for the National Assembly, the Kurdish alliance took 26 per cent and Allawi, a secular Shiite who supported strong ties to Washington, won only 14 per cent.

But after the votes of the 99 parties that did not make it into the parliament were subtracted, the alliance held a majority.

The seats were allocated according to this narrower vote count. The results were announced after a deadline to file complaints expired Wednesday.