BAGHDAD (AP) — A recount of votes cast in Baghdad did not change the results of Iraq’s March election, an electoral official said Sunday, preserving a narrow victory for the Sunni-backed candidate over the Shi’ite prime minister.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded the recount after losing out by two seats to challenger Ayad Allawi and alleging fraud. The province, which includes the capital, accounts for so many seats in Parliament that a significant change in the vote tally could have tilted the overall results in Mr. al-Maliki’s favor.
The election results must still be ratified by the Supreme Court, but the announcement removed a major hurdle to the seating of the new 325-member legislature.
Other challenges to the election results have delayed the formation of a new government and raised fears the political uncertainty could lead to a surge in violence.
An Iraq election commissioner, Qassim al-Abboudi, said that results of the recount “are compatible” with the original count of the March 7 vote.
“The number of the seats are still the same and didn’t change,” Mr. al-Abboudi told a news conference Sunday. He said the difference in the recount amounted to about 3,000 votes, which did not change Mr. al-Maliki’s two-seat win over Mr. Allawi in Baghdad or the overall outcome across the country.
Baghdad accounts for about a fifth of the parliamentary seats. Mr. al-Maliki beat out Mr. Allawi in Baghdad but not enough to give him the lead around the country.
Mr. Allawi gained heavy support from Iraq’s minority Sunni community, giving him 91 seats to Mr. al-Maliki’s 89 seats.
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