BAGHDAD, December 17 , 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - A leading Sunni politician called on Saturday, December 17 , for a coalition government to protect national unity in Iraq as he thanked resistance fighters for not attacking polling stations during last week's "successful" legislative election.

"We will work towards finding a strong coalition in the national assembly that can protect the rights of Iraqis," Adnan Al-Dulaimi, the leader of the main Sunni election coalition National Concord Front (NCF), told a news conference, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"We will conclude an accord with all forces who want to protect Iraq's unity and security and who are looking to set up a balanced authority, rejecting communal dispensations," added Dulaimi.

Dozens of supporters of the main Sunni list demonstrated outside Dulaimi's Baghdad office where the news conference was held.

"Shiites, Sunnis, brothers together, this is our country," they cried.

In the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad, dozens of Sunnis paraded in the streets with portraits of their leaders.

Another march in the Sunni city of Samarra, also north of Baghdad, demanded the withdrawal of the US-led occupation forces.

The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq said ballots were still being counted and official results would not be available before the end of the year.

"Successful"

Dulaimi further trumpeted Thursday’s election as "successful" despite some violations.

"The election process succeeded ... Thank God there were only a few cases in a huge country where there is death and violence," he told the press conference.

Sunni Arabs had largely boycotted elections for a transitional parliament in January but a large turnout on Thursday, December15 , signaled their willingness to maximise their representation in the new government.

The elections will lead to the first full-term parliament since the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime by US-led occupation forces in April2003 .

The 275 -member parliament's first task will be to appoint a president and two vice presidents who will then have 15 days to name a prime minister.

The premier will have 30 days to form a full-term, four-year cabinet with parliamentary approval.

"Thanks Resistance"

Dulaimi also thanked the resistance factions for honoring a pledge to protect polling stations.

"The resistance announced it would protect polling stations and not allow a single group to attack them and it respected its promise," he said.

"In the name of the National Concord Front, we thank the resistance," Dulaimi said.

On Monday, December12 , one of the NCF's co-leaders Sheikh Khalaf Al-Alyani urged resistance fighters to observe a five-day truce so that the elections could take place peacefully.

On the same day, the so-called Islamic Army in Iraq urged its fighters not to attack polling stations.

Unabated resistance attacks, which started after the US occupation in2003 , has left so far up to2 , 100US servicemen killed, sending shockwaves across the United States.

The majority of resistance factions have always sought to distance themselves from militant groups who target mosques and civilians.

Hand in Hand

Outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said Saturday that Shiites and Sunni Arabs should work hand in hand in the new parliament.

"To our brothers in Mosul, Ramadi and Tikrit, I say your brothers in Najaf, Karbala and Hilla have waited a long time to work hand in hand with you under the dome of the next parliament to build the new Iraq," he told reporters.

Jaafari urged Sunni scholars to "use their position to spread principles of unity and freedom".

He also called on Baathists to work with "their brothers" to rebuild Iraq.

Jaafari, second candidate for the United Iraqi Alliance, is guaranteed to be elected to parliament with the bloc set to win the highest number of seats.

He met Saturday with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiites, in all likelihood to discuss the political future of the country.

Jaafari has said that if the UIA lost, which is unlikely, he would work with whoever won "even if they are not qualified."

US President George W. Bush has trumpeted the election as a victory for the Iraqi people, hoping a strong government will quickly coalesce.

A spokesman for Bush said he has contacted the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates and asked them to help Iraq establish a new government.

US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, and General George Casey, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq, said in a statement: "The newly elected leaders should come together quickly and build bridges for national unity."

The UN Security Council also called for "the rapid formation of a representative government" and stressed "the importance of inclusiveness, dialogue and national unity as Iraq's political development moves forward."