PM warns that uncertainty may cause “a return of violence”
So much for a clean election: you know, one that would prove to the world that post-invasion Iraq is finally ready to stand on its own two feet. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is calling for a recount, following his country’s March 7 parliamentary elections. He’s not alone. The four leading political coalitions are all either demanding a recount, or alleging that widespread fraud took place on election day. Still, Iraq’s electoral commission is not buying it. On Sunday, the commission rejected calls for a recount. It also announced that, with 95 per cent of the vote counted, Maliki’s primary opponent Ayad Allawi stands in the lead. Final results are expected on Friday. But Maliki has warned that the electoral commission must answer the calls of Iraq’s political leaders—to “protect political stability and to prevent a deterioration of the security situation that could lead to a return of violence.”