Maliki’s coalition urges vote recount in 5 provinces

BAGHDAD /Iraqi News Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Coalition has called for a recount of votes in five Iraqi provinces, citing an alleged “manipulation” in the results of the election. “We believe that the manipulation in the results in those five provinces has reached 750,000 votes,” a spokesperson for the coalition, Hajem al-Hosni, said in a press conference held in Baghdad today, which was attended by Iraqi News. “This is a very large number, which could significantly change the outcome of the elections,” he pointed out. On March 26, the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced the results of the Iraqi parliamentary election with former prime minister Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya bloc obtaining 91 out of the parliament’s 325 seats, followed by incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon (State of Law) with 89 seats, the Iraqi National Alliance (INA) with 70 seats and the Kurdistan Alliance with 43 seats. SS (P) 3