Tight race and uncertain future for Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 18 (UPI) -- A tight race in Iraqi parliamentary election suggests the political leadership will be preoccupied with forming a ruling coalition for the next government.

The State of Law coalition of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in a close race with the secular Iraqiya slate of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. Both leaders have led the race as official results trickle out of the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission.

The State of Law coalition is leading in seven provinces and Iraqiya holds five provinces. The Kurdish and Iraqi National Alliance of Shiite leader Ahmed Chalabi each lead in three provinces.

The distribution of votes in the various provinces, however, means the vote difference between Maliki and Allawi is minuscule, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Most of the coalitions have lodged complaints of problems with the vote.

Supporters of the incumbent Maliki point to his strong stance on sectarian violence. Opponents complain the leader is an American puppet who also has historic ties to Iran.

"We respect the will of the people," Sajah Qaddouri, a candidate from State of Law, told the Monitor. "But if the future of Iraq requires us changing Maliki, we'd change him."

Baghdad politics are notoriously slow to develop, suggesting forming a new coalition government could drag into the summer. U.S. forces, meanwhile, are watching the elections closely as they make plans to decrease their troop numbers starting in August.