Maliki’s list leads in most provinces

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition is in the lead in most Iraqi provinces, the head of the Iraqi Election Information Network Ein said on Sunday. “Through our monitoring, we have noticed that the Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition comes first in most Iraqi provinces, with the exception of Karbala,” Muhannad al-Kanani told IraqiNews.com news agency. The coalition is led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Kanani added that all violations that have taken place during elections were “slight,” describing the performance of the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) as “above average.” Voters yesterday (Jan. 31) headed to polling stations in Baghdad and 13 other Iraqi provinces to elect their representatives in the country’s provincial councils amidst tight security measures. Over 15 million voters participated in the election, according to the IHEC. Security personnel, prisoners sentenced to less than five years and hospital-bound cast early ballots in the special voting, held on Wednesday (Jan. 28). The holy Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. SS (P) 1