Encouraging News

It's still early and anything reported today can be turned on its head tomorrow, but this article is very, very encouraging.

Iraqi vote signals shift from religious leaders

"Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's political coalition took an early vote lead Saturday in the election's all-important battleground of Baghdad, pulling away from its two closest rivals in the latest indication that Iraqis want a moderate government instead of Shiite religious hard-liners leading the postwar nation.

Partial results released by the Independent High Electoral Commission showed the State of Law coalition with about a 60,000-vote edge nationwide over its main moderate challenger, the secular Iraqiya coalition. The Shiite fundamentalist Iraqi National Alliance was in third place."

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"Nationwide, State of Law has so far amassed more than 357,000 votes, and Iraqiya was trailing with 295,400 votes. The INA was in third place with just over 280,500."

I will admit, though, that the gap between the secular Iraqiya party and the INA is too close for my comfort. I hope the final results, after all the investigations into alleged irregularities and fraud are finished, show that the INA is not just third, but a distant third.