An alliance of Shiite religious parties won the most seats in Iraq's new parliament but not enough to rule without partners, the election commission announced Friday. The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance won 128 of the 275 seats in the Dec. 15 election, down from the 146 it won in January 2005 balloting, said commission official Safwat Rasheed. It needed 138 to rule without forming a coalition.
A Sunni list, the Iraqi Accordance Front, captured 44 seats. Another Sunni ticket led by Saleh al-Mutlaq finished with 11 seats, Rasheed conveyed, according to the AP. The Sunnis now will have a stronger power in the legislature compared to what they had in the outgoing assembly.
A ticket led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, won 25 seats, down from 40 in the outgoing assembly.
The results were announced a day after an international review group said the election was flawed but generally fair.
