Shiites, Kurds Dominate Iraq Vote

US and British leaders praised Iraqi election results that handed a victory to a coalition of Shiite parties. But some European commentators worried about instability and the country's disenfranchised Sunni minority.

Iraq's Shiites were basking Monday in the glory of their electoral triumph but pledged to reach out to Sunnis, whose lack of political power could threaten the country's nascent democracy.

The Kurds also used their strong performance in the landmark January 30 elections to press their demand for one of the state's top jobs and their claim to the disputed oil center of Kirkuk. But the list put together by Iyad Allawi, the interim prime minister since the US occupiers handed power to Iraqis in June last year, managed only a distant third with 13.8 percent.

The United States and Britain, its chief ally in Iraq, welcomed the results. US President George W. Bush praised the 8.5 million Iraqis who "defied terrorists and went to the polls" while congratulations poured in from around the world for the first elections since Saddam Hussein fell in April 2003.

"The world saw long lines of Iraqi men and women voting in a free and fair election for the first time in their lives," Bush said. "The United States and our coalition partners can all take pride in our role in making that great day possible."

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the "Iraqi people have taken another important step on the way to a secure and democratic future."

There was no immediate reaction on Monday from the main countries, notably France, Germany and Russia, which opposed the US-led invasion of Iraq.

EU hails vote

But the European Union's executive arm called it a "step forward" for Iraq and urged the new leaders to "ensure full representation of Iraq's diverse society in the political process," said EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the results were "very positive" and he hoped Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds would reach agreement. "I think that formulas can be found, that's at least what I hope, in order to stabilise Iraq so that the country can begin a new phase," he said.

Although the 48.1 percent of votes won by the main coalition of religious Shiite parties was short of their target, the list backed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani will clinch an absolute majority in the 275-seat parliament.

Shiites dominate

There was no official announcement on how seats would be shared out, but a complex elimination mechanism in the counting system which favors large parties means the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance should obtain 140 seats.

"Iraq is bleeding and we need everybody at this juncture to work for solidarity and unity," said Finance Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, a leading member of the winning Shiite list also seen as a likely prime minister.

"We have stated previously and we repeat that we will follow the principle of dialogue and we will work with all those who were excluded or excluded themselves from these elections," he added, in reference to the Sunni Arab minority.

A two-thirds majority is needed in the National Assembly to agree on presidential posts and to pass some crucial laws, but if it holds together, the Shiite bloc could set the pace without having to systematically seek alliances. Some observers have warned that a united Shiite bloc with an absolute majority could seek to impose a heavy Islamic imprint on the permanent constitution the assembly has to draft by August 15.

Political entities can challenge the results over the next three days, election officials said, making no results definitive until then.

Kurds win in Kirkuk

The alliance of the two historical Kurdish heavyweights secured a stunning victory thanks to high turnout rates in the north, making Kurds likely political kingmakers after decades of struggle against Sunni regimes.

With more than a quarter of the vote and a predicted 75 seats in parliament, Kurds celebrated Sunday after the announcement of the results, which also gave them an absolute majority in the provincial council in Kirkuk.

Oil-rich Kirkuk and its surroundings were Arabized under Saddam but over the past two years the Kurds have effectively retaken control of a city they see as their capital. Kurdish leaders said they would push for federalism to protect their autonomy, but also moved to allay fears of rival ethnic groups in the north that they would seek to break away.

Turkey, which fears Kurdish independence would encourage separatist Kurds in its eastern border region with Iraq, was openly critical of the election result.

"The low turnout of some groups in the elections, the fact that almost no votes were cast in a number of provinces and the fact that manipulations in certain regions, including Kirkuk, led to unbalanced results are issues that need to be considered seriously," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

The Sunnis, which exercised power for decades until Saddam was toppled, will be left with scraps in the next executive. In the restive Sunni province of Al-Anbar, turnout stood at only two percent, while few other Sunni voters went to the polls on January 30.

Some heeded boycott calls from their religious leaders, others feared reprisals from extremist Sunni Arab groups or just opposed the principle of holding elections while foreign troops remain on their territory.

As a result, Sunnis will be almost absent from parliament, with the party of President Ghazi al-Yawar mustering a paltry five seats and elder statesman Adnan Pachachi failing to win a single one.

Sunnis marginalized

Officials and observers fear that Sunni marginalization could further fuel an insurgency which has resulted in thousands of deaths and crippled the country's economy since the March 2003 US-led invasion.

France's Liberation newspaper said in an editorial that there was "the danger of two civil wars" as the Kurds in the north and the Shiites in the south controlled the country at the expense of the once dominate Sunnis.

"Not few dream of an Islamic state that is more or less like its neighbor Iran. Others want an independent and ethnically unified Kurdistan," commented the paper.

The 'Tages-Anzeiger' in Zurich also worried about whether Sunnis could support the new government. "A large minority of Iraqis will not feel they are respresented by the national assembly," the paper wrote.

More than 100 people have been killed in insurgent attacks over the past week, many of them targeting Shiites. In the latest violence on Sunday at least 16 people were killed, including a senior army officer gunned down in an ambush. A US soldier was also killed and another wounded near the restive city of Samarra.