Baghdad, March 27: The Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, was last night poised to lose power as final election tallies showed that Iyad Allawi, the secularist challenger, had won most seats in the 325- member parliament.
The results released yesterday by the country’s election commission showed Mr Allawi’s Iraqiya group winning 91 seats, narrowly beating the alliance led by Mr Maliki into second place with 89 seats. Potential coalition partners are thought hostile to any deals that would keep Mr Maliki in power. There is no guarantee that Mr Allawi, a former prime minister, will be able to form a ruling coalition either but the extent of his success is much greater than had been expected.
Violence marked the final day of election counting yesterday as two bombs in Diyala province killed 40 people and wounded more than 60. Iraq is not likely to return to the mass slaughter of recent years but the bloodshed underscored the ongoing political tensions.
–Agencies