Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki's called for a nationwide recount of votes from the country's March 7 parliamentary election has been rejected by the country's electoral authority.

Mr al-Maliki had been warning the country could return to violence if his demand was not met.

The call came after new results from the electoral commission showed on Saturday secularist challenger Iyad Allawi edging ahead of Maliki's bloc by about 8,000 votes with about 93 per cent of the counting complete.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, also issued a statement on Sunday asking the Independent High Electoral Commission for a recount in some provinces.

The tight race portends weeks or months of difficult negotiations ahead to form a new government, raising the prospect of a political vacuum that could set back Iraq's fragile security gains.

"There are demands from several political blocs to manually recount the votes and to protect the democratic experience and preserve the credibility of the political process," said Mr Maliki, a Shiite who won over many Iraqis with his nationalist rhetoric and steps to crush sectarian violence.

"I call on the High Electoral Commission to respond immediately to the demands of those blocs to preserve the political stability and prevent the security situation from deteriorating and avoid the return of violence."

The vote counting process has been dogged by allegations of fraud and irregularities.

But Faraj al-Haidari, the head of the electoral commission, questioned the need for a recount.

"Why should we respond to do a manual counting? Why? For what reason?" he said.

"If there is a glitch, they can file a complaint and say there was a glitch in that station.

"They say they want a manual count, but this is up to the commissioners' board to decide. We do an accurate electronic count."

Mr Maliki and Mr Allawi have been locked in a neck-and-neck race and the lead in the popular vote has changed hands several times.

The country's divided vote is a reminder of its precarious democracy as it emerges from the shadow of war and years of sectarian slaughter unleashed by the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Violence fell sharply over the past two years but a tenacious insurgency keeps Iraq under siege as US troops prepare to withdraw by 2012.

- Reuters