Rigged democracy: Electoral legitimacy in Iraq

AP reports on the latest developments in Iraq, including the deaths of two more U.S. soldiers, the kidnapping of six Sudanese, and this: "Large demonstrations broke out across the country Friday to denounce parliamentary elections that protesters say were rigged in favor of the main religious Shiite coalition."

I previously wrote about allegations of electoral fraud here.

For an excellent post on the demonstrations, the parties involved, and what may or may not have happened, see Iraq the Model: "This joint effort between Sunni Islamists, Sunni and Shia seculars as well as communists in spite of the great differences in their points of view reflects the depth of the worries shared by those parties about having one party monopolize power."

Yes, democracy may be messy, but it needn't be fraudulent. It's too early to tell what happened, given that a full-scale investigation has yet to begin, but this peaceful, multi-partisan effort seems to be a major step in the right direction.