UPI, Baghdad, March. 23, 2010 — Leaders with the secular Iraqiya list said Tuesday they feared its members would be targets of assassination attempts after the final vote count in Iraq.

The Iraqiya list of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has a slim lead over the State of Law coalition of incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from March 7 parliamentary elections.

Jamal al-Batiekh, a member of Iraqiya, told the Voices of Iraq news agency that the secular membership was worried as the Iraqiya lead solidifies.

’There is a fear that some competitors could resort to assassination against the list’s leaders after the preliminary results, which show the advancement of Iraqiya,’ he said.

Maliki during the weekend asked for a manual recount of the votes as the official vote count topped 90 percent. He warned election officials that security could deteriorate in the country after the final tally.

Iraqiya in a statement Tuesday, meanwhile, said it would take legal action against ’the caretaker government’ for launching a ’smear campaign’ in the media against the coalition.

Several of the leading contenders in the parliamentary elections have issued rhetoric targeting their opponents both before and after the March 7 vote.

Iraqi satellite station al-Sumaria reports that ’intensified talks’ are under way between members of the State of Law collation and the Iraqi National Alliance of Shiite leader Ahmed Chalabi to form a future alliance.

Iraqi election officials said a final vote count was expected by Friday.