Bewildering polls

Oh yeah, the elections in Iraq look like they're going to go real smoothly:

Iraqis who brave the threat of attacks and crippling power shortages to cast their votes will face a bewildering array of choices when they are handed ballot papers.

The poll for a transitional national assembly is not being contested by traditional political parties and many candidate names will not feature on voting forms, such are the fears for their safety.

Instead, voters will decide between 111 coalitions, mainly loose alliances of established political factions clustered along traditional religious and ethnic divisions.

Around 8,000 candidates – double the number of a British general election – are vying for the 275 seats on the country’s transitional national assembly, charged with drawing up a new constitution.

The confusing nature of the poll has hampered campaigning efforts and research conducted last month revealed that more than 40% of Iraqis believe they are simply voting for a new president, not a national body.