An Iraqi review panel has invalidated the votes of 52 candidates of last month's election, possibly wiping out the slim lead of a Sunni-backed alliance.
It is not immediately clear how many of the candidates barred for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party had won seats in the 7 March ballot.
The panel's ruling was confirmed by Ali al-Lami, a senior member of a commission that sought to bar candidates with Baath party links, Tariq Harp, a lawyer for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, and Mustafa al-Hiti, a senior member of the winning Iraqiya alliance that was heavily backed by Sunnis.
A recount of votes cast in the March election will likely begin next week.
The recount has delayed certification of the results of the vote, which produced no outright winner but gave a two-seat lead to a cross-sectarian alliance backed by minority Sunnis, with Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's bloc in second place.
A reversal of the rankings would anger Sunnis who dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein and could inflame sectarian tensions that have only recently begun to subside after years of bloodshed unleashed after the 2003 US-led invasion.
