Dawlat al-Qanoon leads in Wassit

WASSIT /Iraqi News The preliminary vote counting of special voting in Wassit showed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawlat al-Qanoon (State of Law) coalition taking the lead with 1,524 votes, according to a source from Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) in Wassit on Friday. Coming second was the National Iraqi Coalition with 1,369 votes, while former Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi’s al-Iraqiya came in the third place with 764 votes, the source, who asked for anonymity, told Iraqi News. The number of those who have the right to vote in Wassit is 18,000. IHEC chief Faraj al-Haydari had said that the final results of Iraq’s second parliamentary elections since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion would take four to five days to announce. Kut, the capital of Wassit, lies 180 km southeast of Baghdad. SH (P) 3