A leading Sunni politician reaffirmed Saturday his partyâs commitment to forming a coalition in the next parliament and thanked insurgent groups for not carrying out attacks during the election. âThis is an important matter and we will do it in order to create a strong coalition in the Council of Representatives that is able to safeguard the rights of Iraqis,â said Adnan al-Dulaimi, a former Islamic studies professor who heads a Sunni Arab bloc that is now expected to have power in parliament - also known as the Council of Representatives. âThe election process succeeded ... Thank God there were only a few cases in a huge country where there is death and violence,â said Adnan al-Dulaimi told a news conference. US officials view al-Dulaimi, who heads an alliance called the Iraqi Accordance Front, as a possible intermediary who could persuade some Sunni-led insurgent groups in restive Anbar province to join the political process after boycotting previous votes. Al-Dulaimi thanked insurgent groups for keeping to a pledge not to carry out attacks during Thursdayâs elections. Sunnis Arabs had boycotted the Jan. 30 elections, many heeding a warning by such groups not to vote. âThe resistance groups committed themselves not to attack but to protect voting centers and not allow any other group to attack them. They kept their promise and we thank them for this,â he said.
Though the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq cautioned that ballots were still being counted and official results would not be available for some time, preliminary estimates indicated polarised results similar to the last elections in January.