Iraqi PM's coalition leads in parliamentary elections, preliminary results show

BAGHDAD, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Preliminary results announced by Iraq's electoral commission on Wednesday showed that the coalition led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani has emerged as the frontrunner in the country's parliamentary elections.

The results showed that al-Sudani's Reconstruction and Development Coalition came first in eight provinces, namely Baghdad, Qadisiyah, Najaf, Karbala, Muthanna, Maysan, Dhi Qar, and Babil.

In a speech made late Wednesday, al-Sudani said "the next phase aims to formulate a new government capable of representing its programs," adding that his coalition is "open to all parties without exception."

Former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, who heads the State of Law Coalition, finished among the top winners in ten provinces but failed to place first in any of them, while Mohammed al-Halbousi, the former Sunni parliament speaker and head of the Taqaddum (Progress) Alliance, came first in the Sunni-majority provinces of Anbar and Salahuddin, and came second winner in Baghdad, Nineveh, Kirkuk, and Diyala.

In Iraq's Kurdistan region, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Masoud Barzani, swept the Kurdish provinces of Erbil and Duhok, while also emerged as the frontrunner in the mixed Nineveh province. Meanwhile, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan took the lead in Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk.

Earlier in the day, the electoral commission announced a voter turnout of 56.11 percent in the early and general polls. It reported that 12,009,453 voters cast ballots out of 21,404,291 registered eligible voters. ■