Juan Cole on the validity of the Iraq elections.
What will be especially interesting here is to see who actually gets into power. I have a feeling that the party lists will be somewhat stacked for the US's benefit. The fact that many of the candidates' names have not yet been revealed (and likely won't be until after the election, as I understand it) does seem a little suspicious.
I remember reading a comment on Matt Yglesias' blog that one of the reasons for using a proportional representation system in Iraq, rather than a voting-by-district system like the one the US uses, was to make it easier for exiles to vote, i.e. to give more power to Pachachi, Chalabi, and their cronies.
I wouldn't be surprised if some people are still trying to manipulate this thing for the ol' Chalabster.
That is all.
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