BAGHDAD | Results from weekend elections released Thursday showed broad backing for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad, Basra and in Shi'ite provinces of the south, but it remains unclear how other candidates will accept defeat.Ethnic and sectarian tensions continued to beset the country in the aftermath of the vote, with a suicide bomber killing at least 15 people in the Kurdish town of Khanaqin, about 90 miles northeast of Baghdad. At least 15 were injured, Reuters reported. Khanaqin lies in the Diyala province, which stretches from the outskirts of Baghdad to the Iranian border. Its 1.8 million people reflect an explosive mix of Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds.
The real test for Iraq's fledgling democracy depends on how the candidates handle the shifts in provincial power, Lt. Col. Kareem Jadoi Hussein said. "Those are problems that come after the results. There will be anger and shouting. We're prepared for trouble," said Lt. Col. Hussein, deputy commander of the 19th Brigade, 5th Iraq Army, in Diyala province.
Results on Thursday showed that the main Sunni bloc's voting list won in Diyala with 21.1 percent, while the Kurds came in second with 17.2 percent, the Associated Press reported.
Sunnis claim to be a majority in Diyala, but Shi'ites dominate the outgoing Provincial Council, which appoints the governor and has influence on the appointment or firing of the provincial police chief, who in turn has say over the hiring of local police officers. Through patronage, council members also fill provincial government agency posts and thus have influence over how money is spent, what projects go forward and who gets contracts for those projects.
Iraqi Security Forces reported little violence in Diyala during Saturday's election. A Shi'ite lawmaker in the provincial capital, Baqouba, survived an assassination attempt Thursday. Salim al-Zeidi escaped injury when a bomb exploded outside his house, a police officer told AP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Nationwide, more than 14,000 candidates vied for 440 Provincial Council seats in 14 of 18 provinces.
In Diyala, 29 seats were up for grabs. Candidates included Awakening Council members -- Sunnis who joined forces with U.S. troops and formed the Sons of Iraq (also known as Concerned Local Citizens) - security volunteers who helped fight terrorists.
"We came here to vote for someone to lead us in a good way, someone honorable," said Yayah Genei, a Sunni, outside a voting place in the village of Hebheb. "We chose the wrong people last time and got nothing.
"We hope everybody understands Iraq is for everybody," Iraqi police Maj. Amad Ahmed Mohammed, who is of mixed sectarian heritage, said before the voting.
Mr. al-Maliki, a Shi'ite, campaigned for local candidates under his State of Law coalition - an effort that was unique because it included almost no references to religion. His candidates won in Baghdad and Basra with 38 percent and 37 percent of the vote respectively. His coalition also won the most votes in eight of 10 predominantly Shi'ite provinces in the south, besting the Iran-backed Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.
In predominantly Sunni Anbar province west of Baghdad, tensions between rival parties and tribes have surged since the weekend, with some Sunni tribesmen charging that rival Sunnis stole the election. A Sunni party led by Saleh al-Mutlaq won in Anbar with 17.6 percent. The Awakening Council list finished close behind at 17.1 percent.