Reuters reports the Shi'ite list, known as the United Iraqi Alliance, backed by Shiite Muslim Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, didn't do as well as expected winning 47 percent of the vote. This leaves it short of a majority in parliament:
The Electoral Commission said on Sunday the Shi'ite list, known as the United Iraqi Alliance, took more than 47 percent of the vote. But this was less than the bloc had predicted and leaves it six or seven seats short of a majority in parliament.
A powerful Kurdish alliance came second with 25 percent, while a grouping led by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, came third with nearly 14 percent. Few Sunni Arabs took part in the voting, which effectively marginalizes the minority that has traditionally ruled modern Iraq and held a privileged position under Saddam, a Sunni.
The commission said 8.5 million Iraqis, or 58 percent of registered voters, cast ballots in the Jan. 30 poll, Iraq's first multi-party election for half a century.
According to Reuters, Sunni Arab turnout was low. Only two percent of eligible voters in the Sunni-dominated Anbar province cast ballots, and only 29 percent in the mainly Sunni Salahadin province.
The Command Post has a round-up of news reports.
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