Iraq's judiciary takes over election commission

BAGHDAD – Iraq's top judicial authority says it is taking over the Independent Elections Commission as stipulated by a law passed in response to complaints of widespread fraud in last month's national elections.

Spokesman Abdul-Sattar Bayrkdar said Thursday the Supreme Judicial Council will select judges who will run the commission and supervise the manual recount requested by the law. He says the council will act in a "fair and impartial way."

The amendments to the election law, which were approved by parliament on Wednesday, also include annulling results from balloting abroad and camps for displaced people in four Sunni-dominated provinces.

It's unclear whether the changes will affect the outcome of the vote. No one bloc won a majority, and the process of forming a government could drag on for months.