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Shia bloc wins Iraq polls, but short of majority
 A Shia Islamist bloc has won Iraq's first election since Saddam Hussein's overthrow, sealing the political resurgence of the nation's long-oppressed majority. The Electoral Commission said on Sunday the Shia list, known as the United Iraqi Alliance, took more than 47 percent of the vote. The list blessed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is expected to get 132 out of 275 seats in the National Assembly once the final results are made official in three days.But this was less than the bloc had predicted and leaves it six or seven seats short of a majority in parliament. A powerful Kurdish alliance came second with 25 percent, while a grouping led by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia, came third with nearly 14 percent. Few Sunni Arabs took part in the voting, which effectively marginalises the minority that has traditionally ruled modern Iraq and held a privileged position under Saddam, a Sunni. The commission said 8.5 million Iraqis, or 58 percent of registered voters, cast ballots in the January 30 poll, Iraq's first multi-party election for half a century. Posted by: Fred 2005-02-14 |
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