The numbers showed the religious Shiites taking a strong lead, even in the mixed city of Baghdad.

They disagree with the religious Shiites on fundamental issues like whether autonomous regions should exist and how oil revenues should be distributed.

And for many religious Shiites, their suffering at the hands of Sunnis is all one, whether it happened 1,200 years ago or yesterday.

The decision appeared to have been influenced by religious Shiites who form his base and by the American military command.

Bringing Baath members back into society is opposed by many religious Shiites who form much of the Parliament.

Given that the religious Shiites will almost certainly still have more than a third of the seats, he must also attract some of those politicians.

Over the summer, a prominent Sunni lawmaker was kidnapped and held for nearly two months by men she described as religious Shiites.

But by holding the alliance together, the religious Shiites hope to project an appearance of unity at a time when many Iraqis doubt their strength.

But the violence intensified in March, when, as Sunni residents were quick to point out, religious Shiites took control of the government.

Outside of the religious Shiites, those two groups, along with the Kurdish coalition, are expected to be the top finishers.