Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat—Former Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi launched a fierce attack on the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) on Thursday, accusing its members of being biased in favor of certain political trends.

“The IHEC is not qualified to run the elections,” Allawi said in a statement, adding that his Iraqi National Accord Party has noted a number of irregularities committed during the polling process.

Allawi, a secularist candidate in Iraq’s highly polarized political sphere, also claimed to have won the majority of votes in Baghdad, adding that “[Prime Minister] Nuri Al-Maliki has many reasons to prevent me from securing the top place in the elections.”

The leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, Ammar Al-Hakim, threatened a “decisive response” if the results of the elections were “illogical.”

“The delay in releasing any official information so far has raised doubts among the parties involved,” the Shi’ite leader said on Wednesday during a religious ceremony in Baghdad.

Hakim pledged to “accurately monitor” the polling process, maintaining that he will “assess how seriously the IHEC deals with the complaints lodges by candidates and party lists.”

In exclusive comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Iraqi MP for the Sadrist Al-Ahrar Bloc Mohamed Rida Al-Khafaji said there has been fraud early in the elections. He accused the ruling State of Law Coalition led by Maliki of “forcing the military and security personnel to vote for the Prime Minister” in early voting organized especially for those personnel so that they would be available to conduct security operations on the day of the poll.

The IHEC says it will announce the official results of the parliamentary elections, held on April 30, next week.