Iraqi voters braved mortar attacks and death
threats to cast their ballots on Sunday in the country's crucial
national elections. Some 5,300 polling centers opened their doors
to voters at 7 AM (0400 GMT), and an election official earlier said
at least 72 percent of those eligible had turned out by 2 AM (1100
GMT).
Polling stations closed at 5 PM (1400 GMT), but
voters waiting in line were still allowed to cast ballots,
according to the election authorities.
The percentage of registered voters who had gone to
the polls in some Baghdad neighborhoods reached 95 percent, said
Adel al-Lami, a member of the Independent Electoral Commission. But
he offered no overall figures for those who voted.
Around 13 million, about half the population, had
registered to vote. Some of those eligible to did not register due
to intimidation or because they were boycotting the polls.
The figure announced by al-Lami was higher than
most expected.
Earlier in the day,
Carlos Valenzuela, the UN’s chief electoral official in Iraq,
offered a much more cautious assessment, saying turnout appeared to
be high in many areas, but it was too early to know for
sure.
Several hours after the beginning of the voting,
some political parties trying to keep track said turnout in the
election might reach 50 percent.
"The reports we are receiving indicate that the
turnout will hit more than 50 percent. Iraqis are looking at these
elections as an issue of dignity," said Planning Minister Mehdi
al-Hafedh Hafedh, whose secular Independent Democrats had sent
supervisors to monitor the voting process.
Oil Minister Thamir al-Ghadhban, a leading
candidate in interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's electoral list,
also said his party's monitors were reporting a big turnout.
"We are seeing huge numbers across Iraq who want to
defeat terror with their vote," he said, "I will not be surprised
if turnout exceeds half."
In the Kurdish-dominated north and the mostly
Shiite south, the turnout is overwhelming. However, few Iraqis are
voting in Sunni areas due to lack of security and calls for a
boycott from some Sunni parties hostile to the military presence of
the US and UK.
Meanwhile, a group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the
most wanted man in Iraq, claimed responsibility for suicide attacks
on several polling stations in Iraq.
"Lions from the martyrs' brigade of the al-Qaida
Organization for Holy War in Iraq attacked several polling stations
in Baghdad and elsewhere," said a statement posted on an Islamist
website.
According to the Iraqi Interior Ministry, 30
civilians and six police died in attacks during the election and 96
people, including 83 civilians and 13 police, were injured.
The toll did not include suicide bombers who died
carrying out attacks, the ministry said.
Also on Sunday, a US soldier was killed in an
attack in the restive province of Al-Anbar.
The country’s 275-seat National Assembly will be
formed by proportional representation and will have a one-year
mandate. It is scheduled to choose a transitional government and
draft a permanent constitution for approval in a national
referendum by October 15.
A new government and parliament will then be
elected through another ballot by the end of this year under the
guidance of the constitution.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2005)
