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Maliki's bloc says 750,000 Iraqi votes in question
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's political party said Sunday its investigation into the March 7 parliamentary election has thrown into question some 750,000 votes, enough to change the results of the nationwide poll.
The State of Law alliance trailed by just two seats behind former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's party in the vote, which produced no clear winner because neither side got enough seats to govern alone. Al-Maliki has demanded an official recount as both sides struggle to cobble together a ruling coalition.
"We estimate the volume of vote manipulation is up to 750,000 votes," Hajim al-Hasani, the spokesman of the State of Law Alliance, told reporters in Baghdad. "This number could change the election results."
More than 11.5 million votes were cast in the election, which international observers said was fair and transparent. An appeals committee is reviewing the complaints, but there is no timetable for a decision.