Recount did not change Baghdad vote result: official

A recount of votes cast in Baghdad during Iraq's March 7 election did not change the parliamentary seat allocation, an election commissioner said today, leaving Iyad Allawi's cross-sectarian bloc the winner of the most seats.

A recount of votes cast in Baghdad during Iraq's March 7 election did not change the parliamentary seat allocation, an election commissioner said on Sunday, leaving Iyad Allawi's cross-sectarian bloc the winner of the most seats.

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"The number of seats stays as is," said Saad al-Rawi, one of nine commissioners at the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC).

The bloc led by secularist former prime minister Allawi won 91 seats in the next parliament, ahead of the mainly Shi'ite State of Law coalition headed by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki with 89. Neither had the majority needed to form a government.