Sanders, Buttigieg in virtual Iowa tie with 100% of votes called

[WASHINGTON] US Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg were in a virtual tie as results from 100 per cent of Iowa precincts were called late on Thursday, but no winner declared in the state's caucuses after technical problems snarled the process.

Earlier in the day Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez demanded a review of the results from the state, which has the time-honoured role of being the first in the nation to pick presidential candidates.

According to final results from the Monday caucuses Mr Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, leads with 26.2 per cent followed by Mr Sanders, the 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, with 26.1 per cent.

However, neither the party nor major US media outlets declared a winner.

"Enough is enough," Mr Perez said on Twitter earlier in the day. "In order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."

Mr Perez said it would involve an examination of the results from each caucus site rather than a full recount.

According to final results, Massachusetts progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren was in third with 18 per cent, followed by former vice-president Joe Biden with 15.8 per cent and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with 12.3 per cent.

The technology problems which prevented a complete vote count were founded on what experts described as a poorly-tested, poorly performing vote reporting smartphone app.

AFP