The FINANCIAL -- BAGHDAD. According to unofficial results in the Iraqi parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who heads the State of Law Coalition, is leading in the ballot count, the head of an independent Iraqi organization said on March 8.

Leis Al-Maliki, who heads the Tammuz organization and is one of the agencies responsible for following the results of the elections, said that the prime minister's coalition was leading in a number of central and southern Iraqi provinces, as well as in the capital, Baghdad.

"The State Law Coalition has received the majority of votes in the provinces of Basra, Babylon, Karbala, Wasit, An-Najaf, as well as the majority in Baghdad," Al-Maliki told RIA Novosti.

According to Tammuz, the second place is currently held by a Muslim-Shiite alliance that has united Shiite religious parties into the Iraqi National Alliance, headed by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who did not run in the elections himself in Sunday's elections.

Third place in the parliamentary elections is held so far by a secular Shiite and former prime minister, Ayad Allawi, who has gained much support among Shiites and Sunnis for his criticism of the current government.

Official preliminary results are expected by Thursday, as there are some 6,200 candidates running for 325 parliamentary seats.

Polling was complicated with explosions on Sunday, leaving at least 36 people dead.

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