Keeping Baghdad Stable

Friday’s bombings in Iraq are another warning that the country faces an uncertain future. The terrorists aim to disrupt U.S. military’s withdrawal plans, as well as exploit the lengthy coalition-formation process in the Iraqi government. It could be months before opposition leader Ayad Allawi, incumbent Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki or someone else forms Iraq’s next government. Nonetheless, the results of the country’s March 7 parliamentary elections have already answered some questions even if they have left others unresolved.

The figures released on March 27 by Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission confirm Iraq’s status as a functioning democracy in which multiple candidates and political parties compete for office in accord with international standards for free-and-fair elections whose outcome cannot be predicted in advance. Neither incumbency, tribal loyalty nor sectarian affiliation determined the results. The inability of a single party to receive a majority of the 325 seats—Allawi’s won the most with 91 seats—reflects the pluralistic nature of contemporary Iraqi society. Domestic and international observers, including the United Nations and the U.S. Embassy, found no evidence of pervasive serious fraud that might have substantially affected the outcome.

If Allawi becomes Iraq’s next prime minister, the country will become one of the few in the Middle East to have replaced its leader and ruling party through peaceful national elections. If Maliki remains in power or if someone besides the two current front runners heads the next government, Iraq will still have had its most democratic election in history. . . .

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