No single bloc² is expected to win a majority of the 328 seats in the Council of Representatives on 30 April.

 

However, Mr Maliki's Shia-dominated State of Law alliance is widely seen as the front-runner.

 

The poll comes with violence in Iraq at its highest level since the peak of the sectarian（宗派的） insurgency³ from 2006 to 2008.

 

On Tuesday, the UN mission in Iraq reported that a total of 592 Iraqis, including 484 civilians⁴, had been killed in violent attacks in March.

 

The figures do not include casualties from the unrest in the western province of Anbar, where security forces are battling Sunni militants⁵ allied⁶ to the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) who have controlled parts of the cities of Falluja and Ramadi since late December.

 

The stand-off was triggered by the Shia-led central government's decision to break up a Sunni Arab protest camp near Ramadi. 

 

"With election day getting nearer, I once again stress the need for unity⁷ and a holistic⁸ approach to violence and terrorist threat in Iraq," said the UN envoy⁹ to Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov.

 

"The political, social and religious leaders of Iraq have an urgent responsibility to set up a mechanism¹⁰ for dialogue and conflict resolution between various stakeholders."

 

Although the government has not discussed postponing¹¹ the election, it is unclear whether it is possible for voting to take place throughout Anbar.

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