Jerusalem  - With polls indicating that 20 per cent of voters are still undecided ahead of Tuesday's general elections, caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Sunday on Israelis to vote in order to "to realize their democratic right and obligation."

Addressing ministers at the last cabinet meeting before the elections, Olmert said that "it is important that there be a high turnout so that the government that will be elected knows it has the full legitimacy, from a decisive majority of the residents of the state, to decide on the most important issues affecting our future."

"Voting in general elections is the essence of democracy. Here everything starts with voting," he said, according to a government communique.

Kathmandu - Nepal's Election Commission has fixed April 10 as the date for by-elections in constituencies that have fallen vacant, the first elections since the country's former Maoist rebels formed a government, official media reports said Saturday.

The by-elections will be a gauge of the popularity of Nepals' Maoists who emerged as the single largest party in the constituent assembly last year.

Baghdad  - Preliminary election results in Iraq showed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Dawlat al-Qanoon coalition leading in nine of 14 provinces and the emergence of new secular powers.

Dawlat al-Qanoon, or State of Law, garnered 38 per cent of the votes in the capital Baghdad and 37 per cent in Basra, the province that accounts for most of Iraq's oil exports, according to the Independent Higher Electoral Commission (IHEC).

Washington  - US President Barack Obama spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talabani on Monday after the country held largely peaceful provincial elections, the White House said.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs offered no further details about the calls. Obama on Saturday congratulated Iraqis on their "significant" and peaceful election of local officials, calling it an "important step" as the country takes control of its future.

Baghdad  - Unofficial, preliminary results from Saturday's provincial council elections suggest Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki's coalition may win provincial council elections in Iraq's nine southern provinces, Iraqi media reported Monday.

Baghdad's Afaq television station, which is funded by the ruling Dawaa Party, on Monday reported that preliminary results suggested that al-Maliki's list would perform well in a majority of Iraqi provinces, particularly in many areas of Baghdad and governorates to the south of the capital.

Podgorica - The Montenegrin parliament dissolved itself late Monday, paving the way for early elections, expected to be scheduled for March 29.

Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's ruling coalition pushed the dissolution of the assembly through, saying it wanted to win a new four-year term for reforms, taking Montenegro closer to the European Union.

The opposition criticized the move, accusing the authorities of panicking amid the growing pressure of the global financial crisis.