Iraq begins manual recount of votes from parliamentary election – official

Iraqi authorities in the northern oil-rich province of Kirkuk have started recounting votes from a parliamentary election in May, Reuters quoted a local election commission source as saying on Tuesday. The election was marred by allegations of fraud. The commission has said a recount will take place in at least six other provinces over coming days. The dispute over the validity of the results has delayed the formation of a new government in Baghdad. The outgoing parliament passed a law in June mandating a nationwide manual recount of votes.