The deeply polarising campaigns that ushered Iraq towards its 30 April election now look set to give way to a period of political wrangling and uncertainty, as the main parties jostle for influence in the new government. Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) has taken longer than normal to begin announcing results, though as GSN went to press the count seemed to have been mostly completed in the Shiite provinces which will determine the balance of power. No reliable reports had emerged about voting patterns in the more unstable Sunni areas, however, where the run-up to the election was marred by ongoing violence.