JURIST - Paper Chase: Sunnis allege fraud in preliminary Iraq election results

[JURIST] Sunni Arabs on Tuesday said that partial results released earlier this week in Iraq's parliamentary elections [JURIST news archive] were a "falsification of the will of the people" and said that there was abundant evidence of fraud. Preliminary results [PDF text] from Baghdad province were released Monday, showing that with 89 percent of ballot boxes counted, the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance [BBC profile] had won almost 59 percent of the vote with the Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front [BBC profile] taking about 19 percent. The Sunni coalition group rejected the results saying there would be "grave repercussions on security and political stability" if efforts are not made to correct mistakes, and head of the IAF said that the alliance could demand that elections be held again in Baghdad. The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) [official website] has said that it will address all complaints [press release, PDF]; so far the commission has received almost 700 complaints including 20 classified as "red", meaning they could affect specific election results. The IECI said Tuesday that final results will not be ready and certified until early January [AP report]. AP has more.

For a one-stop snapshot of the latest legal news that matters, with breaking documents, new legal videos, live law-related webcasts, commentary by expert law professors and more - all updated through the day in real time, with no ads and no registration barriers - visit JURIST's homepage and check back often...