Iraq PM begins preparations to form coalition government

The political grouping headed by Iraq's prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, today began preparing negotiations for a new coalition government after edging ahead in the latest counts of Sunday's general election. The poll's outcome is still unclear but Maliki's State of Law group is growing in confidence after preliminary results gave it victory in at least two southern provinces. Only partial counts have been released from six of Iraq's 18 provinces, excluding Baghdad. Results today from a quarter of votes cast in Maysan province, which borders Iran, showed State of Law trailing to the Iraqi National Alliance, the Shia coalition that includes followers of the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. But Iraqi officials who have seen nationwide results said Maliki's coalition appeared to have a narrow lead. The head of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Ammar al-Hakim, said that Maliki's coalition appeared to be winning – the first statement of its kind by high-ranking official since polls closed. Abbas al-Bayati, a member Maliki's coalition, told Associated Press the alliance had created a committee to open talks with other blocs. Bayati said he expected State of Law would need two or three other coalition partners to form a government. Iraqiya, the coalition of Maliki's main rival, Ayad Allawi, the former secular Shia prime minister, continued to claim that the election was marred by fraud. Rend al-Rahim, an Iraqiya candidate, said the group had lodged 32 separate complaints with election officials, including undelivered and dumped ballots. Results released yesterday showed Allawi and Maliki's rival groups were leading in two provinces each. Coalition talks are expected to be lengthy and fractious. A credible ballot is considered to be crucial to a planned US troop withdrawal. It follows elections in Iran and Afghanistan, where results are widely considered to have been illegitimate. More partial results from Iraq's 14 other provinces are expected on Sunday.