Are smaller parties being cheated?

'The leader of the Ahrar Freedom Party in Iraq today called for a nationwide recount of the results in the recent General Election held on 7 March.

Ayad Jamal Aldin said, "We have sound evidence of nationwide corruption in the election results presently being declared across Iraq. A large number of smaller parties are being deliberately squeezed out of the election result. Thousands of votes are being stolen and transferred to the larger parties, within the Malaki, Allawi and Hakim camps.

"Our Ahrar Party was polling fourth in a large number of governorates and regions across Iraq and we have evidence that our, and other parties', votes are being excluded and not declared in the results so far.

"We have no confidence in the fairness and honesty of the election counting process. We call for international observers, including the United Nations and US Vice President Joe Biden to intervene and support an independently monitored recount of all the votes cast on 7th March. The people of Iraq are being cheated out of a fair election result. No one has anything to fear from a fairly conducted recount but if the present election results are allowed to go unchallenged, Iraq will descend again into conflict rather than benefiting from a free and fair electoral process."