Iraq recount starts; court action taken

BAGHDAD, May 3 (UPI) -- Leaders of Iraq's ruling coalition went to court Monday seeking a more in-depth review of alleged irregularities in the country's recent elections.

However, Faraj al-Haidari, head of Iraq's election commission, said a just-started recount would continue, barring court intervention, The New York Times reported.

"The commission does not yield to any pressure," the newspaper quoted him as saying.

The latest objections by leaders of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's group threaten to further hold up certification of the final election results.

"We have eyewitnesses saying that ballot boxes were filled with false papers," said Hussain Shahristani, the country's oil minister and a Maliki supporter.

It was uncertain whether a special election court would order new recount procedures, the Times said.

The manual recount of ballots cast in Iraq's March 7 parliamentary elections began Monday in Baghdad.

Qassim al-Abodi, a spokesman for the Independent High Electoral Commission, said 600 ballot stations would be recounted and sorted Monday. He said increasing the daily count to 800 stations would be accomplished within a few days, the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.

Officials said the recount would last 11-15 days. More than 2 million ballots are involved, CNN reported.

Officials from the United Nations and U.S. Embassy are monitoring the recount, Radio France Internationale reported.

Maliki called for the recount, saying he lost votes because of alleged election violations in Baghdad.

Iraq's Supreme Court hasn't ratified the March results, and neither Maliki nor challenger Iyad Allawi, a former prime minister, has formed a coalition government.