Iraqi workers at the Independent High El

Iraqi workers at the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) headquarters in Baghdad seal and store ballot boxes on March 8, 2010, following Iraq's second general elections since the US-led invasion of 2003. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Shiite leader who helped ease Iraq's deadly sectarian conflict, emerged as a front-runner after an election seen as a test of the nation's young democracy. The key estimates from the Baghdad region, which could swing the results of the vote, were not yet available but local officials said Maliki's political bloc was so far leading in nine of Iraq's 18 provinces. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)