Maliki wins most seats, short of majority in Iraq vote

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's electoral bloc won the most seats in Iraq's parliamentary election, results released today showed, but he fell short of an overall majority.
Maliki's State of Law alliance won 92 out of 328 parliamentary seats, in the results released by the Independent High Electoral Commission, far ahead of the second highest figure.
Maliki's main rivals all garnered between 19 and 29 seats, according to an AFP tally of election commission results.
The incumbent premier himself garnered upwards of 721,000 personal votes, by far the highest such figure nationwide, helping his case for a third term in power.

Maliki's opponents have voiced strong opposition to his bid for re-election, blaming him for a marked deterioration of security and accusing him of consolidating power and sidelining partners.