Iraqi PM seeking coalition partners
12/03/2010 - 15:19:02The Iraqi prime minister’s bloc said today it has started laying the groundwork to form a coalition government after preliminary election results showed it winning in at least two southern provinces.
The announcement that Nouri al-Maliki’s alliance has created a committee to open talks with other groups signals growing optimism about a strong showing in the parliamentary ballot.
Partial tallies have been released from five of Iraq’s 18 provinces, excluding Baghdad. They show the prime minister and his secular rival, former PM Ayad Allawi, locked in a tight contest amid fraud allegations.
But Maliki supporter Abbas al-Bayati says the alliance has already reached out to other parties and believes it will need at least two allies.
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