Iraq's Election Officials Begin Final Tally of Sunday's Vote

VOA News 01 February 2005

Iraqi election officials say they have finished a preliminary vote count following Sunday's election and are dispatching returns to Baghdad.

The officials say the Election Commission may begin releasing partial results as early as Tuesday, but the final results and the naming of 275 elected members of the interim national assembly may take up to 10 days.

Monday, Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi called Iraq's first free election in decades a major blow to insurgents.

But, the al-Qaida in Iraq militant group led by wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi posted an Internet message, vowing to keep fighting democracy in Iraq.

In a separate development, the U.S. military said American troops trying to control a riot killed four detainees at a detention center in southern Iraq Monday.

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