Can there be an election when there's a state of emergency?

The world will soon find out as Iraq attempts to hold its first "free and open" elections during a period in which the nation is in a declared state of national emergency. Michael Georgy from Reuters reports:

Iraq's U.S.-backed government said on Thursday it was extending emergency powers equivalent to martial law for a further 30 days to try to safeguard Jan. 30 elections under threat from deadly attacks by insurgents.

The state of emergency, first imposed in November ahead of a major U.S. assault on the rebel stronghold of Falluja west of Baghdad, would stay in effect into February, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's government said in a statement.

Emergency powers allow the government to impose curfews, close borders and airports and detain suspects without following normal legal procedures. The emergency applies to all regions of Iraq except the Kurdish north, which has been relatively stable.

With the news that only 32% of Iraqi Sunnis are likely to vote in the January 30 poll, I just cannot fathom how an election can be held in the country. It's beyond me. Perhaps I need to spend some more time speaking with neocons...