Shia party looks for partner in Iraqi Assembly

Following the Iraqi election results, a coalition of parties under the Shia United Iraq Alliance (UIA), is likely to move to vote in a new prime minister.

However, despite topping the polls, the UIA party on its own did not return sufficient candidates to form a majority in the Iraqi parliament. Forming a democratic coalition may take some time and among the likely coalition partners are a grouping of Kurdish parties that polled in second place.

The UIA party's Adel Adbel Mahdi, who is finance minister in the current interim administration, is tipped to take the post of prime minister in the elected Iraq parliament. The alliance has attracted the backing of senior Shia clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, and Mr Mahdi has appealed for "solidarity and unity" in the wake of the elections.

Among the first tasks for the newly elected parliament will be the creation of a constitution for Iraq.

The complex elections organised by an Independent Electoral Commission on January 30 saw voting for three separate bodies: an Interim National Assembly; a Kurdistan National Assembly; and 18 regional 'governorate' councils.

The Electoral Commission has described the results as "provisional" as registered parties may yet lodge appeals.

The largely secular party led by the allied coalition, pending an election, polled poorly taking only 14% of the vote. The UIA, Shia alliance, polled top with 48% of the vote and the second largest group of Kurdish parties took around 26% of the vote.

Despite violence and intimidation in the run up to the election, the Electoral Commission said that 58% of those Iraqis that registered to vote cast their ballots.

Commenting on the election results US President George W Bush said that Iraqi voters were to be commended for "defying terrorist threats".

(SP)