Baghdad results give Al Maliki a boost

Baghdad: A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki was winning in the all-important capital and a Shiite province in the south, according to a partial tally of election results released yesterday.

If the Baghdad trend continues, the results would be a substantial boost to Al Maliki and his chances to retain the Prime Minister's post.

Baghdad accounts for 70 of the parliament's 325 seats and would go a long way toward deciding who will be tasked with forming a government that will oversee the country as US forces go home.

Al Maliki has been ahead so far in preliminary results that have been trickling out from election officials since last Sunday's vote.

Election officials yesterday also announced that the Prime Minister's coalition was leading in Karbala, a Shiite province in southern Iraq where he has been battling his former political allies, the Iraqi National Alliance, a Shiite religious coalition with ties to Iran.

With the partial Baghdad results and the Karbala tally, the Prime Minister is now ahead in five of the nine provinces where early results have been released so far.