Iraq begins hand recount of May ballots in Kirkuk city

BAGHDAD, July 03 (AP): Iraq's state TV says the country's election commission has begun a hand recount of the ballots from May's parliamentary elections in the northern city of Kirkuk.

The TV on Tuesday showed dozens of ballot boxes lined up on ground at a covered sports hall as commission employees were counting the sheets.

The commission says the recount will extend to six other provinces in the coming days.

The elections were marred by allegations of fraud and irregularities, largely blamed on electronic voting machines meant to tabulate results speedily.

Iraq's Supreme Court last month approved a partial recount of the paper ballots. No deadline has been set for its completion.

The initial results gave a bloc organized by the populist Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr the largest share of the vote.