President George W. Bush congratulated the Iraqi candidates and voters as final results in the country's national elections showed Shiites and Kurds led the ballot. "The world saw long lines of Iraqi men and women voting in a free and fair election for the first time in their lives," Bush said in a statement Sunday. "The United States and our coalition partners can all take pride in our role in making that great day possible." Parties have three days to lodge complaints, after which the results will be certified and seats in the new National Assembly distributed. Seats will generally be allocated according to the percentage of votes that each ticket won. "I congratulate the Iraqi people for defying terrorist threats and setting their country on the path of democracy and freedom," Bush said. "And I congratulate every candidate who stood for election and those who will take office once the results are certified." Lawmakers appearing on Sunday talk shows said a political give-and-take to form a coalition is expected now that election results show no Iraqi group won the votes needed to form a new government on its own. "That's really part of that democracy that we're all so happy that they're moving toward," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessess Republican, said on "Fox News Sunday." The State Department called the election "a positive and significant accomplishment" and encouraged Iraqis who were not elected to remain involved in the political process.
