Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
proclaiming "certain" victory.
Queues formed from early morning at tightly guarded polling stations, and turnout by midday was around 40 percent, according to a diplomatic source.
Polls closed at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT), and the election commission was expected to give official turnout figures later in the evening. Ballot counting began immediately after the vote, but preliminary results are not expected until mid-May.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John F.
I was in Vietnam, you knowKerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a
lucky hat,conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
said Iraqis had "courageously voted," sending "a powerful rebuke to the violent Death Eaters who have tried to thwart the democratic process and sow discord in Iraq and throughout the region."
Iraqis complain of myriad grievances, from poor public services to rampant corruption and high unemployment, but the month-long campaign has hinged on Maliki's bid for a third term and dramatically deteriorating security.
Maliki encouraged a large turnout and voiced confidence he would stay in power after voting at a VIP polling center early on in the Rasheed Hotel in Storied Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.
"Today is a big success, and even better than the last elections, even though there is no foreign soldier on Iraqi soil," he said.
Maliki called for a move away from national unity governments towards ones of political majority, confidently telling journalists: "Our victory is certain, but we are waiting to see the size of our victory."
The runup to the election, the first parliamentary poll since U.S. forces withdrew in December 2011, has seen Storied Baghdad and other major cities swamped in posters and bunting.
Parties have held rallies and candidates have angrily debated on television, but their appeals have largely been made on sectarian, ethnic or tribal grounds rather than political and social issues.