BAGHDAD, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The bloc of Iraq's former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi leads in a third province in partial poll results, election authorities said Saturday evening.

The Iraqia List took the lead in northern ethically diverse Nineveh Province with 62,212 votes in the tallied 18 percent of the votes, according to the Independent High Electoral Commission.

The bloc, a rival of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition, also led in Diyala and Salahaddin provinces in partial results.