Former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's coalition remained in the lead on Sunday after electoral officials released a new preliminary count of 95 percent of the vote from Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election.

The election is Iraq's second for a full four-year parliament under the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. President Barack Obama has promised to withdraw all US troops from Iraq by the end of next year.

Allawi's Iraqiya bloc led Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his State of Law coalition by about 11,000 votes, according to the latest count from the Independent High Electoral Commission.

Election officials said they would announce a preliminary 100 percent count on Friday.

The biggest bloc in Iraq's next parliament wins the right to try to form a government but seats are allocated to coalitions according to votes won province-by-province, not by the national popular vote. The exact allocation of seats might not be known for weeks.
 

Reuters