According to the returns, which still must be certified, the coalition known as the United Iraqi Alliance won 47.6 percent of the vote, the low end of what its officials had predicted. A coalition of two main Kurdish parties won 25.4 percent of the vote, and a bloc led by interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite, got 13.6 percent. The United Iraqi Alliance drew the support of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the country's leading Shiite cleric.

Among the biggest losers in the elections were Iraq's interim president, Ghazi Yawar, a Sunni Arab whose list of candidates drew less than 2 percent of the vote, and Adnan Pachachi, a Sunni elder statesman and former foreign minister who headed a ticket that received only about 0.1 percent.

Election officials put overall turnout at 8.5 million voters or 58% of the elibigle voting public.

What happens next?

Together, the three coalitions accounted for nearly 87 percent of the vote, making them the central players in the new National Assembly, which will choose a president and two vice presidents. They, in turn, will appoint a prime minister, who will choose a cabinet. The new government will be subject to confirmation by the assembly, which will also be charged with writing a new Iraqi constitution.

The fun begins with the drafting of the Constitution. How much deference will it give to Islamic principles? How will the Sunnis be included and if they are not included, will the new Government be viewed as legitimate?