Sistani-backed candidates bid to edge Allawi out of Iraq top job. Iraq’s next prime minister will undoubtedly be a Shiite Muslim and a returned exile. But interim incumbent Iyad Allawi and the men challenging him to become the country’s first elected leader since Saddam Hussein could have radically different policies. (Khaleej Times)

Campaigning in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region is in full force with political leaders holding almost daily meetings with tribal leaders. Advertisements fill local Arab and Kurdish newspapers, while billboards show the slogans of secular and religious political parties. (AP)

As Iraqis prepare for their national elections, Arab media outlets are providing some of the most intense coverage in recent memory, particularly as many speculate what effect the vote's outcome will have throughout the volatile Middle East. (AP)

The Iraqi people want to vote in the January 30 elections and are ready and willing to take charge of building a democratic society, according to Laith Kubba, an Iraqi elections expert and the National Endowment for Democracy’s senior program officer for the Middle East and North Africa. (US Dept. of State)