US confident Iraq now headed for new government

while the INA Cheap Module Bouncy won 17Preliminari result show Maliki won 26 seat in the capit to Allawi' 24..

with total from all but on provinc sent for ratification. A recount in the lone exception,Elector offici said result from the nation' March 7 vote should be certifi within a week. Baghdad, is more than half done.

Th releas of full result could still hit snag as the statu of sever success candid remain in doubt over their alleg ti to oust dictat Saddam Hussein' ban Baath Party.

Christoph Hill,However. the US ambassador to Baghdad, said the pace of polit progress had "quickened" in the past week and an end wa in sight.

" he told report at a brief in the Iraqi capital,"Th count in Baghdad is go faster and we do expect it to be over by the end of the week. note that certif of result befor the end of Mai wa possible.

certif is not the begin of the end but rather the end of the beginning."Obviously."

" but note that the choic of a new premier wa unclearHil said the merger of Prime Minist Nuri al-Maliki' State of Law bloc and the religi Iraqi Nation Allianc INA on Wednesdai had creat a "Shiit mega party..

" he added"Th issu of who will be the prime minist is yet to be determin and obvious it will be a subject of great competit in the week ahead..

Qassim al-A bboudi,Earli on Sunday. a spokesman for the Independ High Elector Commiss IHEC , told AFP that result for 17 of Iraq' provinces, all except Baghdad, had been sent to the suprem court for approval.

with five Christian seat and seven nation compensatori seat be held backA bboudi ad that three of the eight seat reserv for minor would also be sent to the suprem court for ratification..

made up of Presid Jalal Talabani and Iraq' two vice presidentsTh result were sent to the court at the request of the presid council..

245 of parliament' 325 seat will have been finalisedIf all of those result ar ratified..

follow close by Maliki' State of Law with 89Preliminari nationwid result have shown that the Iraqiya bloc of secular ex-premi Iyad Allawi won the most seat with 91..

a coalit led by Shiit religi groups,The INA . finish third with 70.

State of Law and the INA ' coalit fall four seat short of a parliamentari majority.

however,A uthor have. been carri out a manual recount in Baghdad, Iraq' biggest elector constitu with 68 of the 325 parliamentari seat up for grabs, sinc last week.

speak on Iraqiya television,IHEC chief Faraj al-Haidari. said 6,191 ballot box from a total of 11,000 in Baghdad had been recount and that the job would be complet on Friday.