Iraqi prime minister and president call for recount of vote

Baghdad - Both the prime minister and the president of Iraq called on the country's electoral commission to agree to requests for a recount of votes of the March 7 parliamentary polls, in a press release issued Sunday.

The requests come after former prime minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqi List eked out a narrow lead over current Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition in early election results announced Saturday.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) had rejected the State of Law coalition's request for a recount last week, which had been made amidst allegations of fraud.

Al-Maliki said he urged the commission to agree to a recount "because of demands from several political blocs that votes be recounted by hand in order to protect the democratic experiment and maintain the credibility of the electoral process."

He stressed that the recount was important "in order to maintain political stability and prevent the deterioration of the security situation or a return of the violence which was eliminated only with much effort, blood, and suffering."

The request was echoed by President Jalal al-Talibani, who also told the press on Sunday: "As President of the Republic, who is obligated to uphold the constitution and ensure adherence to its spirit in order to ensure overall integrity and justice, I ask the IHEC to begin a manual recount of the election votes as of today."

Al-Maliki's coalition still holds a lead in seven out of Iraq's 18 provinces, compared to five for Allawi's list, which could give al-Maliki a slight edge in seats in the new parliament, even if Allawi wins the popular vote.

Source: Earth Times,
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315069,iraqi-prime-minister-and-president-call-for-recount-of-votes.html.