Polling stations were open across Iraq on Wednesday amid tight security for the first stage of a landmark provincial election, the nation's first ballot since 2005. The advance voting started ahead of Saturday's main polling day to try to avoid the security, logistical and electoral fraud problems during the parliamentary election of 2005 when the vote was held on single day.
About 614,000 police, soldiers, hospital patients and prisoners were eligible to cast ballots at 1,699 voting centres that opened at 7 am (0400 GMT) and will close at 5 pm (1500 GMT). "Participation has been excellent," Qassim Abudi, administrative director of the Iraq High Electoral Commission, told a press briefing in Baghdad, adding that some polling stations had closed by midday.
The election is seen by Washington and Baghdad as a litmus test of Iraq's stability in the face of simmering unrest as US troops prepare to accelerate their plan to withdraw from Iraq by 2011. Security was especially tight in the capital, with hundreds of armed soldiers and police guarding polling stations as part of a sweeping plan to prevent the kind of violence that plagued the vote in 2005.
With the help of the United Nations, Iraq is holding the elections in 14 of its 18 provinces. Some 15 million citizens are being called to the polls to elect among more than 14,000 officials for 440 seats. Iraq's borders will be closed on the eve of Saturday's poll, while transport bans and night-time curfews will also be put in place. The provincial councils are responsible for nominating governors who lead the administration, finance and reconstruction projects in their areas, while security forces remain under Baghdad's control.
Army lieutenant Adnan Jaafar was among those casting ballots on Wednesday. "I'm happy because the elections are being held democratically and without pressure," he said, adding that he had voted for Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition.
In Ramadi, the capital of the Sunni province of Al-Anbar, where voters largely boycotted the 2005 election, a large number of police and soldiers went to the polling stations, an AFP reporter witnessed. Only 3,775 people voted in Anbar in 2005, less than one percent of the electorate. Sunni Arabs across Iraq are now expected to contest the ballot in large numbers to reverse the political imbalance that resulted from their near nation-wide boycott four years ago.
Their absence allowed Shiite and Kurdish parties to take control of parliament, which bred resentment among Sunnis and was partly to blame for a violent insurgency that cost tens of thousands of lives.
A study by an international monitoring group that studies conflict-hit countries emphasised the importance of the polls. "Whereas the January 2005 elections helped put Iraq on the path to all-out civil war, these polls could represent another, far more peaceful turning point," the International Crisis Group said.
"Despite likely shortcomings, the elections may begin to redress some of the most severe problems associated with the 2005 vote, assuring fairer representation of all segments of the population," said Robert Malley, ICG Middle East and North Africa programme director.