The demand from President Jalal Talabani came a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki appeared to back the idea by calling on the election commission overseeing the counting to quickly respond to requests from political blocs for a recount.
The Independent High Electoral Commission — a body appointed by Parliament — swiftly dismissed the calls and urged political parties to be patient and lodge their complaints through the appropriate channels. “It is not possible that a political entity, which believes there might have been a mistake at a particular polling station, can demand a manual recount for an entire city or for the whole of Iraq,” said commission chief, Faraj Al-Haidari.
Talabani demanded in a statement an immediate recount to “preclude any doubt and misunderstanding” about the results. He said he was making the demand “as the president of the state, authorized to preserve the constitution and to ensure justice and absolute transparency.”
Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's coalition remained in the lead on Sunday after officials released a new preliminary count of 95 percent of the vote. Allawi's Iraqiya bloc led Al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition by about 11,000 votes, according to the latest count.
