Iraqis were expected to get a glimpse of the country's new political landscape on Thursday when first official results from weekend elections are released.

Electoral commission official Hamdiyah al-Husseini insisted preliminary findings would be released once 30 percent of votes cast in Sunday's poll had been counted by later Thursday.
"The counting is taking place normally (and) there is no problem," Husseini told AFP on Wednesday.

The complete results were expected to be announced on March 18 and the final official results, after any appeals are taken into account, will come at the end of the month.
But Thursday's initial results will likely provide an early indication of Iraq's new political chessboard.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, has emerged as front-runner, according to estimates AFP obtained from officials across the state.
But he could face a tough battle to cling to power after the vote that saw millions defy bomb, mortar and rocket attacks, which killed 38 people, to cast their ballots.

His State of Law Alliance was ahead in Shiite regions, while Iyad Allawi, a former premier who heads the secular Iraqiya list, led in Sunni areas, according to estimates.
The other leading list is the Iraq National Alliance, dominated by two Shiite religious parties, the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and the movement of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who led two uprisings against US occupation troops.

The commander of US occupation forces in Iraq on Tuesday predicted it would take "a couple of months" for leaders to form a post-election government but downplayed fears of instability.
"Clearly we understand that this is a transition time and transitions are always a time of risk," he told US public television.

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