NY Times: Here comes another Islamic state, unless they can fudge the results

Early Results Show Religious Groups Leading in Iraqi Vote - New York Times: "Early voting results announced by Iraqi electoral officials today, with nearly two-thirds of the ballots counted, indicated that religious groups, particularly the main Shiite coalition, had taken a commanding lead.

The secular coalition led by Ayad Allawi, the former prime minister, had won only meager support in crucial provinces where it had expected to do well, including Baghdad.

The front-runner among Sunni Arab voters was a religious coalition whose leaders have advocated resistance to the American military and have demanded that President Bush set a timetable for withdrawing the American military from Iraq.

The preliminary results accounted for more than 90 percent of votes cast in 11 of Iraq's 18 provinces. About seven million ballots have been counted, of an estimated turnout of 11 million in the vote last Thursday for a full, four-year government, electoral officials said.

Officials warned that the results could still change. "