Iraqi Sunnis demonstrate against election results
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-24 08:54

Thousands of Sunni Arabs on Friday demonstrated in the street of Baghdad against the partial results of the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections announced by the electoral commission, calling for a re-vote.

The demonstrators held Iraqi national flags, banners and big pictures of Sunni political leaders in the street in southern Baghdad after Friday's prayers, said Xinhua photographer at the scene.

Adnan al-Dulaimi, a leader from the main Sunni Arab coalition, the Iraqi Accordance Front accused the elections as fraudulent. He spoke to the demonstrators from the balcony of a building and demanded that the elections be re-run.

The Iraqi Electoral Commission announced the partial results of the Dec. 15 elections on Monday, which showed that the Shiite coalition won most of the votes in Baghdad and other Shiite provinces.

However, Sunni and secular Shiite parties have recently accused the provisional election results as fraudulent.

On Thursday, 33 Iraqi political parties decided to form a new bloc in protest against the announced partial results of the elections and threatened to boycott the newly elected parliament if its complaints are not dealt with.