Votes split along ethic lines in Iraq election

IRAQ’S electoral commission released partial and preliminary results today from the last week’s elections that showed Shiite and Kurdish parties dominating in provinces where they are the predominant group.

The commission, however, only released preliminary results from one province where Sunni Arabs are the majority of the population. The results released so far show that the votes were divided along ethnic and sectarian lines.

In predominantly Sunni Arab Salahuddin province, where Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit is located, parties and tickets affiliated with the religious minority looked set to win an overwhelming majority. Results from 89 percent of the ballot boxes showed three Sunni Arab tickets taking the majority of the votes.