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Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
I am in the middle of reading this. Seems to be saying that things are sort of grim in Iraq right now. I don't see how it's possible to register people, much less hold elections at this point.
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I heard a radio interview of a couple of election folks who have been advising the CPA over the past year or so. Their take seemed to be that you probably could have basic registrations from the old rationing systems (plus some factor to take into account the new people), and they made the point that elections often occur around the world in less than ideal conditions (with civil wars, insurgencies, etc).
The difference here is that entire regions and entire ethnic groups risk being shut out of the process entirely. If that happens, the new government will be probably devoid of Sunnis, and that creates significant internal legitimacy problems that could spark a full-out civil war.
The risk seems to be not that the elections won't happen (because once the date's set, no one feels like they can postpone it), but instead that a crappy or half-done election won't be sufficient in the eyes of Iraqis themselves, which leads to other problems.
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