BAGHDAD, May 1 (UPI) -- Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi said Saturday officials will meet next week to discuss what they called a deteriorating political situation.
In a statement, Hashimi said the presidency council would meet by Monday to examine the situation in Iraq resulting from the outcome of the country's March 7 election, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported.
Political analysts have said the security and stability of Iraq are at risk because of a political crisis caused by the announcement of results of the election, the report said.
Election returns indicated a coalition led by former Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi won 91 seats in the 325-member Parliament, followed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition with 89 seats.
However, the results could be affected by a court ruling in Baghdad disqualifying a winning candidate from Allawi's winning coalition because the candidate had once been a member of the Baath Party, which was outlawed after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein.
The court has not issued a ruling in the challenge of nine other winning candidates, KUNA said.
A manual recount is set to begin Monday, resulting from an appeal by Maliki's coalition, which claimed there was proof of vote fraud, the report said.
Allawi's Iraqiya slate has called for new elections.
