Shi'ite bloc secures majority in Iraq assembly

Iraq's Shi'ite alliance won a slim majority of seats in the new National Assembly, the Electoral Commission said yesterday, securing them power after decades of domination by minority Sunnis.

Based on final results from last month's historic election, the United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of mainly Shi'ite Islamist religious parties, was allocated 140 seats in the 275-seat National Assembly, the Electoral Commission said.

Seventy-five seats went to a Kurdish bloc that polled the second highest number of votes in the January 30 ballot. Many Sunni Arabs failed to vote through a combination of boycott and fear of Sunni insurgents battling the US-backed administration.

An Alliance leader seen as a potential prime minister said Sunnis must now take part in drafting a constitution, however. Otherwise, some fear, sectarian tension could become civil war.

A two-thirds majority is required to approve the appointment of a president and two vice-presidents, the next step in the electoral process. The Shi'ite alliance and Kurdish bloc are expected to work together to form such a majority.

The three-person presidency will name a prime minister and a cabinet. The Alliance's Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who is front-runner to be prime minister, said the nomination had yet to be decided and that talks on the top jobs would take "a couple more days".

A group led by the present, interim, prime minister, Iyad Allawi, a secular Shi'ite, won 40 seats in the election.

The election dramatically shifted power to the majority Shi'ites who watched many Sunnis enjoy considerable privileges under Saddam Hussein. Some fear the transition of power could stoke sectarian tensions and fuel the Sunni-led insurgency.

Leading figures have said the cabinet should include Sunnis and Mr Jaafari stressed that it was crucial they get involved in drawing up a constitution, the new parliament's main task.