Iraqis vote in landmark election

TheSun 16Dec2005 Iraqis vote in landmark election BAGHDAD: Undeterred by scattered violence, Iraqis voted in large numbers in an election yesterday, with minority Sunni Arabs who boycotted the last poll determined not to miss out on power again. The demand to vote was so strong that polling stations were kept open for an extra hour in some areas to allow those lining up outside to cast their ballots. The largely peaceful election, which will raise US hopes that a stable government can pave the way for American troops to pull out of Iraq, was in sharp contrast to January's vote for an interim assembly, when 40 people died. Sunni Arabs mostly boycotted that poll but took part with enthusiasm on yesterday, backed by nationalist rebels who vowed to protect those who voted. "I'm delighted to be voting for the first time because this election will lead to the American occupation forces leaving," Jamal Mahmoud, 21, said in the battle-scarred city of Ramadi. Turnout in 10 hours of voting was at least 10 million, or 67%, election commission chief Hussein Hendawi said, much higher than the 58%on Jan 30. In Saddam Hussein's home province around Tikrit, once a heartland of Sunni opposition, turnout was 83%, an election official said. Some provisional results may be known today, but definitive tallies could take two weeks or more, officials say. United Nations envoy Ashraf Qazi was pleased: "All in all it was a good day and a historic day". A White House spokesman also called it a historic day. Informal polling by Reuters around the country showed the ruling Shiite Islamist Alliance and their Kurdish allies still dominant in their southern and northern bases respectively. But there also seemed to be a strong turnout in favour of former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who heads a secular slate with candidates from across Iraq's sectarian and ethnic divides. While voting went well generally, two people were killed in mortar attacks in Mosul and Tal Afar in the north and three, including a US Marine, were wounded when a mortar round landed in Baghdad's Green Zone. A nationwide three-day traffic ban, and the presence of 200,000 Iraqi soldiers and police backed up by US troops, appeared to succeed in protecting 6,000 polling stations. A suicide car bomber was shot dead in Baghdad and police said they arrested another east of the capital. US diplomats hope that if Sunnis are drawn into the political process, the revolt will be undermined, letting Iraqis gradually take over security without provoking a civil war. "Ballot boxes are a victory of democracy over dictatorship," Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said after voting, his finger purple with the dye that prevents double voting and is a symbol of Iraqi democracy. "They've chosen voting over bombs." ­ Reuters