58 percent of registered voters, cast ballots in the Jan. 30 poll, Iraq's first multi-party election for half a century

Shi'ite Bloc Wins Iraq Polls, Sunnis Marginalized
Mariam Karouny and Alister Bull/Reuters Original Article

A Shi'ite Islamist bloc won Iraq's first election since Saddam Hussein's overthrow, sealing the political resurgence of the long-oppressed majority but leaving the restive Sunni Arab minority in the cold. The Electoral Commission said on Sunday the Shi'ite list, known as the United Iraqi Alliance, took more than 47 percent of the vote. But this was less than the bloc had predicted and leaves it six or seven seats short of a majority in parliament.