BAGHDAD, Feb 1, (Agencies): Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s allies look set for sweeping victories in provincial polls, a result that could overturn the post-Saddam political order and strengthen the hand of a leader once seen as weak. Although official preliminary results will not be published for days, leaders of rival Shiite parties acknowledged that Maliki’s State of Law coalition appeared to be headed for a substantial win and perhaps a landslide in Shiite areas. “The results of the bloc of the prime minister: it was a surprise for many people. And I think ... it means a new power has emerged,” said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh referring to initial reports of success in provinces across the south.

“Nobody has expected that they (would) achieve this in Basra, in Nassiriya, in Samawa, in Kut. In this government, nobody had expected they could achieve such a result.” A government official close to the prime minister said State of Law appeared to have won in all nine southern Shiite provinces, as well as Shiite East Baghdad. “The others are competing for second or third,” he said. If confirmed, the results would amount to a crushing defeat for religious parties that have run Shiite provinces with little heed to Baghdad since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein.  The prime minister, who campaigned hard with a nationalist law-and-order message in the weeks before Saturday’s vote, would have strong momentum in his bid to hold on to power in national elections later this year in the majority Shiite country.

A source at the electoral commission in Basra said that the State of Law slate was far ahead in early counting with 50 percent of the vote there, a dramatic lead in Iraq’s second largest city and source of nearly 80 percent of its oil exports. Furat al-Sheraa, the head in Basra of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI), the party that has controlled most southern provinces since the US-led invasion, confirmed that figure and said his own party had won only about 20 percent. A total of 191 Iraqis were killed in violence across the country last month, the lowest toll since the US-led invasion of 2003, authorities said on Sunday. The figures, released after an election held in 14 of the country’s 18 provinces passed off without major violence on Saturday, showed that 140 civilians, 27 soldiers and 24 policemen lost their lives in January.

The death toll was 42 percent down on December’s total of 316, which had itself been the lowest figure for almost three years. “I consider the toll is due to the efforts of the Iraqi security forces, and the support of the Iraqi people, which helped to keep down the terror,” defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammad al-Askari told AFP. “This toll is the lowest since 2003,” he said. The latest casualty figures — compiled by the defence, interior and health ministries — also showed that 300 civilians, 71 soldiers and 35 police were wounded in January. Al-Askari praised police and the army for their conduct in safeguarding the poll, which came two days after gunmen murdered three election candidates and two election campaign workers. Iraqi and American military commanders had also warned of al-Qaeda attacks around election day.

“The best evidence of the ability of the Iraqi security forces, is what was achieved yesterday,” Askari said. Iraq has in the past year seen a stark improvement in its security situation, but tens of thousands of police and soldiers were on duty to guard the country’s first ballot since 2005. Although attacks remain common in Baghdad and provinces such as Diyala and Nineveh, where al-Qaeda linked insurgents are still active, the casualty report differs markedly from recent years. In January 2007 there were 1,992 civilians, 40 soldiers and 55 police killed. Mirroring the fall in Iraqi deaths, combat deaths among US troops fell to 314 last year, down from 904 in 2007 and reaching the lowest level since the 2003 invasion, according to independent website www.icasualties.org.

The US army announced on Sunday the death of a soldier in a “non-combat related” injury in Kirkuk, bringing January troop deaths to 16. Iraq’s stability has been at the forefront of new US President Barack Obama’s early moves on foreign policy, as he is keen to redeploy American soldiers to Afghanistan which he sees as the front line against al-Qaeda. The Iraqi ministries last month said that US and Iraqi security forces killed 2,028 insurgents in 2008 and arrested 13,000 of them.