The preliminary results of Sunday's general elections in Iraq show a very tight race between current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the secular coalition led by former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

The post-electoral confusion deepened with both sides throwing charges of fraud.

The second-ever democratic elections in Afghanistan were hailed as a success for democracy, but now the results are being plagued by allegations of fraud. We talk with Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, who also served as an election observer in Afghanistan.

Despite threats of violence from the Taliban, Afghans headed to the polls yesterday to vote in the country's second-ever presidential election. The votes are still being counted, but both of the leading candidates, incumbent Hamid Karzai and ex-foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, are claiming victory. Brian Katulis, an election monitor with Democracy International, joins us from Kabul to discuss observers' efforts to ensure a fair election.