| Sunni Arab participation in the elections could have been even higher if there had been more polling centres in key Sunni areas, a head of the largest Sunni Arab slate said yesterday. Adnan Al Dulaimi, of the Iraqi Accordance Front, said his group's first task when they enter the parliament will be to work on calming the security situation. He predicted that the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance will not retain the slim majority they hold in the outgoing parliament because his Sunni group, the Kurdish Alliance and former Prime Minister Eyad Allawi's ticket will gain strength. "It makes the heart happy that all Iraqis went out and participated in the elections in large numbers, even in the areas that are referred to as hot. The situation was quiet, there were not any confrontations or riots," Al Dulaimi said in the telephone interview. |