IOWA, United States 4 FEB (ANA) - Results from voting in Iowa, the first round in the contest to pick a Democratic candidate to face President Donald Trump, have been plunged into chaos by apparent technology issues.

The state's Democratic party said the holdup was a "reporting issue", adding that it expected to "have numbers to report later today [Tuesday]".

On Monday, voters flocked to more than 1,600 schools, libraries and churches.

Despite the absence of results, several candidates are claiming victory. 

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders spoke of winning in Iowa's caucuses, citing internal campaign data that placed him ahead of Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Earlier, Mr Buttigieg told supporters that "by all indications" his campaign was "going to New Hampshire victorious". He is referring to the forthcoming vote to select candidates in that state on 11 February.

Mr Trump tweeted that it was an "unmitigated disaster", adding "the only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is 'Trump'."

The vote in Iowa was a caucus - which involves people attending a meeting before voting on a candidate, perhaps via a head count or a show of hands. 

Voters in primaries - like the vote in New Hampshire - can just turn up at a polling booth and vote in secret.(ANA)

FA/14 February 2020--------