The biggest Shiite party in Iraq once appeared to hold all the political sway: control of the heartland, the backing of influential clerics and a foot in the government with ambitions to take full control.

But the days of wide-open horizons could be soon ending for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and replaced by important shifts that could be welcomed in Washington and scorned in Tehran.

The signs began to take shape with hints of the voter mood from the Jan. 31 provincial elections, though official results may take several days to tally.

The broad message — built on Iraqi media projections and post-election interviews — was that the eventual results would punish religious-leaning factions such as the Supreme Council that are blamed for stoking sectarian violence and reward secular parties seen capable of maintaining Iraq's relative calm.