New Delhi: Soon after Iraq polls to elect a new four-year government closed on Thursday, ballots are being counted for forming the Iraqi 'weapon of mass construction ? parliament'.
An estimated 15 million Iraqis went to the polls on Thursday to vote for the country's first permanent parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.
The deadline for the polling booths was extended for an hour following a large turnout in more than 33,000 booths.
Members of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq sorted out ballots in closely guarded polling stations.
Though no official statement has been released, Prime Minister Ibrahim Al Jaafri's Shia coalition has emerged as a favourite in the opinion polls.
Former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's Iraqi Nationalist is expected to come a close second.
Results may take days, while talks on a coalition government reconciling ethnic and sectarian divisions may last for weeks.
"Since no single party will have a majority there will be a need for a very broad-based coalition," US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, a key player in the process, told Reuters.
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