Papers analyse Iraqi elections. The politics of the Middle East will never be the same again - democracy is an idea whose time has come for the Arab world. (BBC News)

Next Five Steps After the Iraqi Elections. Official results of the Iraqi national elections, which were held on January 30, were announced yesterday after a three day delay. Iraqis will go through the following stages after the polls: [...] (Zaman Online [Turkey])

Arabic News notes: Iraqi elections participation at 59%; al-Seistani list wins the majority, Allawi is the third after the Kurds. The Independent Higher Commission Of The Elections in Iraq announced that the united Iraqi coalition list supported by the Shiite clergy Ayatullah al-Seistani won 48.1% of the votes in the national assembly ( Parliament) elections which took place on January 30th. In a press conference held in Baghdad, the commission said that this list got 4,075,291 votes out of 8,456,266 voted followed by the list of the Kurdish parties which got 25.7%, representing 2,175,551 votes. The list of the interim prime minister Eyad Allawi took the third position by getting 13.8% of the votes.

Turkey: Iraqi Elections Proof Of Support To Democracy. (TurkishPress.com)

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah expressed hope on Monday that Iraq's elections would represent an important step towards stability in the country, the Kuwait News Agency reported. (XINHUA online)

Iran has welcomed the results of Iraq's elections as a step forward for democracy, saying it expected Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority, which won the largest share of votes, would work with the country's other ethnic groups. "Certainly it is promotion of democracy and in that respect we welcome that," said Iranian Foreign Minister Kamel Kharrazi. (The Age)

Matthew Rothschild: Beyond the Iraqi Elections. (Progressive.org)