Iraq's premier says he has enough support to keep his post, but with election results not due for weeks and parties bitterly divided, forming a government will probably take months.
Nuri al-Maliki, who is seeking a third term in office, will have to court disaffected parties within his own Shi'ite community, as well as Sunnis and Kurds who have angrily voiced opposition to his rule, but he expressed confidence following Wednesday's polls.
His remarks to journalists came as new figures showed April was among the bloodiest months since Iraq was embroiled in a brutal Sunni-Shi'ite sectarian war that left tens of thousands dead in 2006 and 2007.
The protracted surge in bloodshed, with more than 3000 people killed already this year, is among the long list of complaints, along with rampant corruption, high unemployment and what critics of the government say is insufficient improvement in public services.
Preliminary results from Wednesday's election are not expected for at least two weeks, but initial figures from the election commission show around 60 per cent of 20 million eligible voters had cast a ballot.
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Turnout in the last election in 2010 was 62 per cent.
As was the case after previous elections, forming a government is likely to take months, but Maliki said on Thursday that he had the votes to put together a ruling coalition.
"We have confidence that we will achieve a political majority," he told reporters in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.
However, he insisted he would not cling to the post.
While Maliki's bloc is tipped to win the most seats, no single party is expected to win a majority on its own and Iraq's various political alliances and communal groups will have to form coalitions.
