A three-member court that investigates election-related complaints ordered last week the recount of more than 2.5 million votes in Baghdad, a development that could reverse al-Iraqiyya’s two-seat lead. Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s bloc is second with 89 seats.
“We will begin efforts to form the government once the recount is over. But depending on the outcome, we may also demand a re-vote,” he was quoted as saying on the website of private NTV television. Allawi is in Ankara and had talks with President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday. The Shiite politician, whose coalition has the backing of the Sunnis, warned that there would be more problems and violence if al-Iraqiyya is blocked from forming the government. He said he expected Turkey’s support in the process. “A destabilized Iraq would lead to tensions in the region. That’s why we are talking to our brothers in the region. We ask all the regional countries to support the transition process of Iraq. Turkey plays a significant role in the region, and it has never intervened in its internal affairs,” he was quoted as saying.
