NTDTV 20 February 2009
The final results of the provincial council elections were announced during a news conference in Baghdad on Thursday 19 February 2009.
Faraj Al-Haidri, Electoral Commission Chairman
“It is our pleasure to announce the final results of the provincial council elections, as we promised you, after we completed the sort and distribution of the seats to the political blocs and candidates. The results are not validated and it could be appealed by the candidates before the court.”
Allies of Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki will take control of the southern oil hub of Basra after winning 20 out of 36 provincial council seats in local elections last month.
Six of the seats allocated to Maliki’s State of Law coalition were assigned to women.
Maliki emerged as a surprisingly strong winner after his allies trounced his Shi’ite Muslim rivals across much of the south. He fared especially well in Basra, which includes Iraq’s most productive oil fields, and the capital Baghdad.
In the western desert province of Anbar, Sunni tribal chiefs who helped U.S. forces drive out Islamist militants like al Qaeda, won the most seats.
The tribal chiefs, with 8 out of 29 council seats, plan to form an alliance with a secular Sunni group.
Malikis supporters also gained 28 out of 57 council seats in the capital Baghdad, boosting the prime ministers stature ahead of parliamentary elections at the end of the year.
The January 31 election, to pick councils in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces, was the most peaceful vote since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, feeding hopes for an end to years of sectarian slaughter and insurgency.