Elections in Iraq

On Sunday, March 7th, Elections will take place in Iraq.  These will be the third round of elections since the invasion in 2003.  While Iraq is certainly doing better than its darker days in 06/07, there are still many obstacles to overcome.

Here are some interesting highlights from some of the news stories I've read, all of which come from the International Herald Tribune (the international version of the NY Times):

• There are over a million people voting from out of Iraq, most of them refugees in Jordan and Syria. 
• One of the most senior Shi'ite cleric has refused to endorse a particular candidate, letting elections run their course.  This is a good thing as the clerics have enormous power to influence, and refusing to endorse is refusing to wield his religious authority in the elections (at least not directly). 
• A few suicide bombings were carried out earlier this week while security forces voted (I presume they voted early so they could focus on providing security during the elections on Sunday). 

Kurdish Region | I didn't know this until about 2 months ago, but the Kurdish region in the northern part of Iraq is autonomous.  Its internal workings, as I understand it, do not have interference from the national government in Baghdad.  Its been a relatively stable place since the US invaded in 2003, and there have even been schools and universities opening up.  Here is a really interesting article about the elections in that area and how it might influence the balance of power in the central government in Baghdad.