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Iraq PM leads in early results from oil hub Basra


    BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A list led by Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had a wide lead in early results from the southern oil hub of Basra a week after Iraq's parliamentary election, the country's electoral commission said on Sunday.

    Basra will be at the heart of huge oilfield development projects by foreign firms.

    Maliki's State of Law coalition had 219,657 votes compared to 121,497 for a fellow Shi'ite list, the Iraqi National Alliance, which has close ties to Iran.

    Iraqiya, a secular, cross-sectarian alliance led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, had 36,093 votes. The totals represented 63 percent of the vote in Basra province.

    (Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Khalid al-Ansary; editing by Philippa Fletcher)