Despite dubious political maneuvering, especially an attempt to eliminate Sunni candidates, the recount of Iraq’s parliamentary elections was encouraging.

The election commission said on Sunday that after a manual examination of the ballots cast in Baghdad in the March 7 elections, it found no widespread fraud. It affirmed that the cross-sectarian coalition led by Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister, had, indeed, bested the mainly Shiite coalition of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki by a mere two seats — 91 to 89.

Candidates still have time to appeal to Iraq’s Supreme Court, but the recount was considered a main stumbling block to the formation of a new government.

The absence of obvious ballot manipulation — which so...