**Latest results from Iraq’s election show a tight race emerging between incumbent PM Nouri Maliki and main rival Iyad Allawi.**With 80% of votes counted, the coalition headed by former prime minister Mr Allawi has a narrow overall lead for the first time.
However, Mr Maliki remains strong in key regions like Baghdad and Basra.
The BBC’s Andrew North, in Baghdad, says the picture could well change by the time all votes are in.
Results from refugee voters outside Iraq, and special pre-election voting by Iraqi security forces have still to be announced, and they could dramatically affect the outcome of the parliamentary poll.
With neither candidate able to win an overall majority, it is likely to mean talks on forming a new government will be long and difficult, our correspondent adds.
Minority Sunnis
Mr Allawi’s secular Iraqiya bloc is leading in five of 18 provinces, and his nationwide edge is only 9,000 votes.
Iraqiya is proving popular among minority Sunni Muslims resentful of the dominance of Shia religious parties since 2003.
Mr Maliki, who heads the State of Law alliance, is ahead in seven provinces.
Behind the frontrunners are the Shia Iraqi National Alliance (INA) and Kurdish parties which dominate Iraq’s Kurdish north.
Vote counting since the 7 March poll has been dogged by technical problems and claims of fraud.
On Wednesday, Mr Maliki’s party asked for a recount in Baghdad - where its lead has steadily narrowed - following claims that votes were being manipulated in favour of an unnamed competitor.
The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said the count was fair and had included multiple checks against fraud.
Complete election results are expected in the next few days and final results - after complaints have been investigated - are due by the end of the month.
The election is the second since the US-led invasion of 2003 that ousted Saddam Hussein.
It comes less than six months before the US is due to withdraw all of its combat troops from Iraq.