The governing Shiite coalition called on Iraqis yesterday to accept results showing the religious bloc leading in parliamentary elections and moved ahead with efforts to form a ânational unityâ government. But as they reached out to Sunnis and others, senior officials in the United Iraqi Alliance headed by cleric Abdul-Aziz Al-Hakim deepened the postelection turmoil by claiming that extremists and Saddam loyalists were the ones questioning the results. âThere will be no going back and no new elections,â said senior alliance official Jawad Al-Maliki. âThe results must be accepted and the will of the people must be respected.â The alliance said that preliminary results showing them with a clear lead in the Dec. 15 elections were not the result of fraud or intimidation. They charged that many violations took place in Sunni areas, and claimed that many of its âopponentsâ conspired with insurgents to alter results. âWe, the United Iraqi Alliance, were surprised by the results. We were expecting more seats,â Al-Maliki said at a news conference attended by five senior alliance members. âThe opponents have made it clear through their statements and warnings that they stand alongside the terrorists.â
He was referring to statements by senior Sunni politicians who openly thanked some insurgent groups for not attacking polling stations, and to reports that masked militants were guarding some of them. Adnan Al-Dulaimi, the head of the main Sunni coalition known as the Iraqi Accordance Front openly thanked âresistance groupsâ in the days after the elections. âThey have stated that what they call âresistanceâ has protected the ballot boxes in their areas. This is a confession that rigging has happened,â Al-Maliki said.
The harsh comments demonstrated the difficulty that Iraqi parties will face when they sit down to form a government after final results from the elections are released in early January. The officials added that the alliance had begun talks with other groups about the possibility of forming a ânational unityâ government.