Iraq Press Roundup

Dabbagh: The elections showed the formation of new Iraqi Sunni and Shiite powers

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said, on the heels of the provincial elections, that new Sunni and Shiite powers would not adopt religious statements, Shabab al-Iraq reported Monday.

"Many Sunni and Shiite parties were brought in these elections to form the political structure for all Iraqi provinces, as preparation for the next national elections," the spokesman said.

The new powers will shape the future of Iraq at the next test at the parliamentary elections scheduled for later in the year.

Dabbagh supported early election results that suggested the State of Law bloc, allied with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, won major seats in the provincial councils because of its support for a unified and national Iraq. The results of the elections in the southern provinces show the bloc took a large portion of the seats, he added.

The Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq said roughly 7 million of the 15 million registered voters turned out for the elections Saturday. Dabbagh said this was in line with expectations, as the situation in Iraq is still on its way toward stability.

Gains and losses in the provincial councils

Iraqis headed to the voting booth Saturday, giving the State of Law bloc led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki a decisive victory, al-Iraq lil-Kul reported Monday.

Several of the lists of candidates in the open-slate Saturday provincial elections were allied with the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council of cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. Iraqi voters, however, cast their ballots instead for Maliki's slate, a move seen as a victory for his premiership.

Meanwhile, candidates supported by the secular list of Iyad Allawi, a former prime minister, won seats in several Shiite and Sunni provinces, suggesting voters were no longer looking to support religious parties.

Candidates backed by the Sunni Iraqi National Dialogue Front of Salih al-Mutlaq, a prominent member of Parliament, beat out the rival Iraqi Islamic Party in parts of Diyala province. The Sunni Islamic Party also lost out in the polls in the western Anbar province, the report said.

Faraj al-Haidari, chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq, said about half of the registered voters turned out at the polls Saturday. The last elections in 2005 had a turnout of roughly 55 percent.

No supplementary elections, officials say

Iraqi election officials said, following complaints by many politicians, that there will be no supplementary elections in Iraq, al-Ittihad of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reported Monday.

Several voters complained their names were not listed on the voter registration forms at their polling centers during the balloting Saturday. Several politicians lodged complaints, saying this suggested there should be another round of elections.

Faraj al-Haidari, chairman of the Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq, said holding a supplementary election is out of the question, as such a measure lacks the legal grounds needed.

He also said his commission was not responsible for the lower than expected turnout. Earlier polls suggested nearly 70 percent of the registered voters would cast their ballots Saturday, though only about 50 percent showed up at the polls.

Several people were unable to vote, the report said, because they could not reach polling centers before curfew. Claims that the displaced community was marginalized had surfaced as well.

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(Edited by Daniel Graeber)