Iraqis await glimpse of new political landscape (AFP)

BAGHDAD (AFP) –

Iraqis were set to get a glimpse of the country's new political landscape on Thursday when first official results from weekend elections are released.

Four days after the vote, incumbent Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his main secular rival Iyad Allawi have emerged as the main candidates for the top job, with their parties having appeared to have fared best in Sunday's polls.

Several political blocs, meanwhile, called for individual tally sheets from the elections to be published to ensure nationwide vote counts were accurate, amid concerns any discrepancies could affect the protracted coalition-building which is expected to ensue.

Also on Thursday, Maliki's office announced that he had undergone surgery but was in good health, without specifying what the procedure was for.

Electoral commission official Hamdiyah al-Husseini has said preliminary results would be released once 30 percent of votes had been counted, which she said would be later Thursday.

"The counting is taking place normally (and) there is no problem," Husseini told AFP on Wednesday.

Complete results are expected to be announced on March 18 and the final ones -- after any appeals are dealt with -- will come at the end of the month.

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But Thursday's initial results will likely provide an indication of Iraq's new political chessboard.

Several blocs called on Thursday for individual polling station tally sheets to be published online, expressing concerns the nationwide vote would not be in line with the total from individual stations.

Were the polling station tally sheets posted online, political blocs could check to see if their sum corresponded with the nationwide results tabulated by the election commission.

"I am not saying there has been fraud but we fear that the results could have been modified," said Maysun Damaluji, spokeswoman for Allawi's Iraqiya bloc and a candidate for parliament.

"The count is not being conducted in a proper fashion," Damaluji said, claiming that some party observers had been evicted from counting rooms.

The Iraqi National Alliance, a list led by Shiite religious parties, added in its own statement that it was concerned over "signs of intentions to change the election results".

"We call on the commission to put the tally sheets of each province on the commission's website so that candidates and political entities will be able to count their votes manually," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Maliki's office said in a statement that he "had a surgical operation by a specialised Iraqi medical team" on Wednesday, adding that he had "left the hospital in good health".

Ali al-Mussawi, an advisor to the prime minister, declined to give details on the surgery when contacted by AFP.

Maliki, a Shiite who helped ease the country's deadly sectarian strife, has emerged as the front-runner to retain his post, according to estimates AFP obtained from officials.

But he could face a tough battle after the vote, which saw millions defy bomb, mortar and rocket attacks, which killed 38 people, to cast their ballots.

His State of Law Alliance was ahead in Shiite regions, while Allawi, a Shiite former premier, led in Sunni areas, according to estimates.

The commander of US forces in Iraq on Tuesday predicted it would take "a couple of months" for leaders to form a post-election government but downplayed fears of instability.

General Ray Odierno said he had been in close touch with Iraqi authorities about ensuring security after the country's second election since the 2003 US-led invasion.

"Clearly we understand that this is a transition time and transitions are always a time of risk," he told US public television.

"But we have worked very hard with the government of Iraq ... to try to ensure that security will remain," he said. "I believe we will be able to do that through this critical period."

President Barack Obama earlier paid tribute to the "courage and resilience" of Iraqi voters who posted a 62.4 percent turnout despite the violence.

There are currently around 95,000 US troops stationed in Iraq, a figure that is set to nearly halve to 50,000 by the end of August, ahead of a complete withdrawal by the end of 2011.

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