**Supporters of Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki have a clear lead in the mainly Shia southern province of Basra, the latest count from parliamentary polls show.**Results so far put Mr Maliki’s bloc ahead in six of Iraq’s 18 provinces, including Baghdad. Counts from another four provinces are yet to be announced.
Basra accounts for 24 seats in the 325-member house, second only to Baghdad.
The alliance led by Mr Maliki’s main rival, former prime minister Iyad Allawi, came third in Basra.
Full results from the 7 March elections are not expected until the end of the month.
No single group is expected to win a majority in the Council of Representatives. A long process of coalition-building is expected to follow the final results.
SEATS AT STAKE IN PROVINCES
- Baghdad 70
- Nineveh 34
- Basra 24
- Dhiqar 18
- Sulaimaniya 17
- Babil 16
- Irbil 15
- Anbar 14
- Diyala 13
- Kirkuk 13
- Najaf 12
- Salahuddin 12
- Dahuk 11
- Qadisiya 11
- Wasit 11
- Karbala 10
- Misan 10
- Muthanna 7
Sources: Independent High Electoral Commission of Iraq
In Basra, Mr Maliki’s State of Law coalition was clearly in the lead with 63% of the votes counted, Iraq’s electoral commission said.
Correspondents say a win in the oil-rich province would boost the prime minister’s chances of winning another term.
The partial figures put the Shia-led Iraqi National Alliance (INA) second in Basra. Iraqiya, the secular Shia-Sunni alliance led by Mr Allawi, came third.
State of Law is now ahead in six of the 14 provinces where partial results have been released - Basra, Baghdad, Najaf, Babil, Karbala and Muthanna.
Iraqiya leads in the predominantly Sunni provinces of Anbar, Nineveh, Diyala and Salahuddin. The INA is ahead in two predominantly Shia ones - Misan and Qadisiya.
The Kurdistan Alliance, dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, is leading as expected in Irbil and Dahuk.
The BBC Andrew North in Baghdad says Mr Maliki’s representatives are already talking with other parties on forming a new coalition government.
Allegations of fraud continue to hang over the process. Iraqiya has claimed ballots were dumped and vote counts were fabricated.
About 6,200 candidates from 86 factions stood in the election. Voter turnout was 62%, officials said, despite attacks that killed 38 people.
A credible election is seen as crucial to US military plans to end combat operations this August, seven years after the invasion.