Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is demanding a recount of the votes in the recent parliamentary elections.

The Shiite Iraqiya Party led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi accuses Mr al-Maliki of making threats against the electoral commission. Only last week, Prime Minister al-Maliki said complaints about the elections were insignificant and would not affect the results. However, he now says a recount is necessary to safeguard political stability.

Mr Allawi says it is suspicious that Mr al-Maliki should accuse and threaten the electoral commission now that Iraqiya appears likely to win the elections. Mr Maliki's coalition initially took the lead in the election results, but now that 92 percent of the votes have been counted Iraqiya is leading by a narrow margin.