results "to be announced Friday" (Extra)

[carlablum]

Final Iraqi elections results "to be announced Friday" (Extra)

03/21/10

Baghdad - Final results from Iraq's March 7 parliamentary elections will be announced Friday, the country's electoral commission announced Sunday, amid mounting calls for a recount.

The Iraqi parliamentary race looked set to go down to the wire after early results announced over the weekend showed former prime minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqi List eking out a narrow lead over al-Maliki's State of Law coalition.

In separate statements, al-Maliki and President Jalal al-Talabani on Sunday called on the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to conduct a manual recount of the national vote, given allegations of fraud.

This would 'preserve political stability ... and avoid a return to violence,' al-Maliki said in a statement.

The IHEC has stood by its results, and has said that it is thoroughly investigating claims of fraud, in at least five cases discarding ballots cast at polling stations because of irregularities.

Candidates have three days after the release of final results to launch formal challenges.

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/ne...d-Friday-Extra

[stfsprl]

BRING IT!!!!! It's time . . .