The U.S. should consider postponing its planned August pullout from Iraq for several months to help maintain stability as post-election political jockeying and opportunistic violence by al-Qaeda in Iraq play themselves out, writes CFR Iraq expert Brett McGurk.

The close, completed counts in Iraq's elections mean that it will take months of coalition-building, and Sunni-Shiite political tensions, before it's clear who will head the new government, says CFR expert Meghan O'Sullivan.

Listen to experts report on Nigeria's presidential crisis, sectarian conflict, and security dilemmas in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Watch experts report on Nigeria's presidential crisis, sectarian conflict, and security dilemmas in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Iraq's security forces performed especially well during parliamentary elections but a big test looms in the months ahead as votes are counted and Iraqi factions try to form a government, says CFR's Brett McGurk.

Meghan L. O'Sullivan discusses why, in Iraq, "the process of forming a government is likely to be prolonged."

Regarding Nigeria, John Campbell says, "... paralyzed and divided government is the order of the day in one of Africa's most important countries."

In this guide to the Iraqi elections, Foreign Policy takes a look at the manifold parties, coalitions, and sects involved, providing a comprehensive profile of each party's leadership, main constituency, power center, and history. 

Meghan O'Sullivan, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Brett McGurk, International Affairs fellow in residence at the Council on Foreign Relations, discuss the upcoming March 2010 Iraqi Parliamentary elections.

CFR's Meghan O'Sullivan and Brett McGurk say the fracturing of Iraqi political coalitions make the upcoming parliamentary elections more complicated as well as a possibly healthy step in the country's evolution.

Abbas Kadhim outlines the sources of local and systemic corruption in Iraq and its effects on the nation's prospects for democracy and the rule of law.

The coalition led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is likely to lead in the March 7 parliamentary elections, as Iraqis look for stability and security after years of conflict, says Nir Rosen, an analyst of Iraq's political scene.

Despite fears to the contrary, the apparent presidential victory of Viktor Yanukovych in some ways bolsters the democratic gains of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, says Steven Pifer.

As Iraq's pre-election crisis deepens, Iraq analyst Reidar Visser says Washington must do more to counter the sectarian agenda emerging in Baghdad's political landscape.

Reports of Sunnis being banned from Iraq's March 7 elections are a reminder of the dangerous fault lines in Iraqi politics, which the United States can best influence with support rather than interference, says CFR's Brett McGurk.

The results of Ukraine's presidential election, which will go to a runoff on February 7, show unhappiness with Viktor Yushchenko's government, but are also a mark of Ukraine's independence.

The election of a new president, argues Shannon K. O'Neil, ushers in new era for politics in Chile.

In a NYT op-ed, co-chairman of the International Crisis Group Chris Patten discusses the choices facing Sri Lankan voters during the 2010 presidential elections, in the wake of violent ethnic conflict.

Iraqis don't blame Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for an uptick in violence, but that doesn't mean he'll prevail in March 7 parliamentary elections, says veteran Middle East correspondent Jane Arraf.