Supreme Court ratifies Iraq election results

Baghdad: Iraq's Supreme Court on Tuesday ratified the results of the nation's March 7 parliamentary election, officially declaring the secular Iraqiya alliance the vote's biggest winner.

The televised announcement by the court's top judge marked the first major step toward resolving Iraq's election crisis and the seating of a new parliament. But the government impasse remains far from over, and it could still take weeks, perhaps months, before lawmakers elect new leaders.

The March vote left the country without a clear winner, as none of Iraq's major political coalitions won an outright majority.

According to the Iraqi constitution, President Jalal Talabani now has 15 days to call parliament to its first session, where lawmakers could vote to elect a speaker and a president.