Oh goodness.
We'll see. If Allawi wins, there will be claims of fraud by the occupying US forces on behalf of the acknowledged CIA asset. As of now, I don't know what anti-fraud measures exist in the Iraqi vote-counting process. The idea that it takes a week to count the votes strikes me as somewhat suspicious, but more important is the transparency. Who is there when the votes are counted? What opportunities would a party that wants to fabricate results have?
Iraq may become a very messy situation over the next couple of months. Sistani, of course, would be outraged at the idea of Allawi becoming prime minister. Hopefully the process will move forward in a way that most Iraqis trust and produces a legitimate government. For now, I'm hopeful.
