Sanders, Buttigieg in virtual tie after 100 percent of Iowa Dem caucus votes called

Washington: U.S. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg were in a virtual tie as results from 100 percent of the Iowa precincts were called late 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, Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of a small town in Indiana, leads with 26.2 percent followed by Sanders, the 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, with 26.1 percent.

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

"Enough is enough," 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."

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 percent, followed by former vice president Joe Biden with 15.8 percent and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with 12.3 percent.

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.