Iraq to launch Baghdad vote recount

Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission is preparing for a manual recount of votes cast in Baghdad's polling stations during the country's March 7 elections.

A judicial panel announced the recount on Monday in response to complaints of widespread fraud from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law bloc, which narrowly lost to former Premier Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya.

"We have no problem with manually recounting the votes in accordance with the court order," electoral commissioner Hamdiya al-Husseini said on Tuesday, adding that the commission began preparing for the recount following the court order.

She said the commission intended to employ well-trained staff for the recount and will notify political and other observer groups to monitor the process.

Husseini said the recount, scheduled for Saturday, would involve 11,000 polling stations in the capital, adding it would take no more than 10 days to recount the ballots.

Results from the elections showed Allawi's Iraqiya winning 91 seats in the 325-member parliament, with Maliki's coalition on its heels with 89 seats. The National Iraqi Alliance followed with 70 seats.

The State of Law coalition has dismissed allegations that the court's decision came under the government's pressure, saying the bloc had presented over 4,500 manipulated ballot forms to the court.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=123959§ionid=351020201.