The United Iraqi Alliance, a coalition of Shi'ite Muslim groups, won the biggest share of the votes, falling just short of an outright majority. Iraq's election commission says a Kurdish coalition led by Jalal Talabani finished second, with 25 percent. The prime minister of Iraq's interim government, Iyad Allawi, and his allies ranked third, with 14 percent. Authorities in Baghdad say the results announced Sunday will be certified final if they are not challenged within three days.

Well over 8 million Iraqis took part in last month's election, but relatively few ballots were cast by members of the Sunni Muslim minority that dominated the country during the Saddam Hussein regime.

The result has caused consternation for all those who claimed Iyad Allawi was bound to win as he was an American puppet however the result has shown that the election was not rigged by America and did reflect the views of the Iraqi people. Democracy has come to Iraq.