US President Barack Obama paid tribute to those who voted in the poll, seen as a crunch test of the war-shattered nation's young democracy less than six months before American combat troops quit the country.

"I have great respect for the millions of Iraqis who refused to be deterred by acts of violence, and who exercised their right to vote," Obama said in his first reaction to the ballot.

But he cautioned later that "there will be very difficult days ahead in Iraq and there will probably be more violence, but like any sovereign independent nation, Iraq must be free to chart its own course."

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband hailed Iraqis for their "determination to vote," which his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner said "bears testimony (of their) will... to move beyond ordeals of the past."

Voters had stood in long queues at polling stations in Baghdad, in Sunni towns that mostly boycotted the 2005 parliamentary vote, and elsewhere across the country.

"We don't care about the bombs. The people will vote," said Abbas Hussein, jangling prayer beads with his index finger coated in purple ink, signalling he had voted in Mansur, a Sunni district of Baghdad.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said in initial forecasts that voter turnout was 50 percent or more in all but one of the 16 provinces it was able to provide figures for.

Full election results are not expected until March 18, and it will likely take months before a new government is formed as no single bloc is set to emerge as dominant.

The United Nations praised voters and election organisers, while urging caution about premature outcome predictions.

"This day has been a triumph of reason over confrontation and violence," said UN envoy Ad Melkert, adding: "The polling process was well-organised, orderly... and polling procedures were properly applied."

Baghdad bore the brunt of Sunday's violence, with about 70 mortars raining down on mostly Sunni areas as people voted in the second parliamentary ballot since US-led forces ousted dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.

The cities of Fallujah, Baquba, Samarra and several other areas were also hit by mortar rounds or bombs, many of them exploding near polling stations.

Twenty-five people were killed when a rocket flattened a residential building in the north of the capital, and all the other deaths were in or near the city.

A total of 110 people were wounded in the attacks which came despite 200,000 police and soldiers deployed in Baghdad and hundreds of thousands more across the country.

An Al-Qaeda group warned Friday that anyone voting ran the risk of being attacked.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said the attacks "are only noise to impress voters but Iraqis are a people who love challenges and you will see that this will not damage their morale."

Khaled Abdallah, 35, was one of the thousands who queued up in the Sunni bastion of Fallujah to cast his ballot.

"My vote today is a defiance of Al-Qaeda," he told AFP.

Sunni Arabs boycotted nationwide polls in 2005 in protest at the rise to power of the nation's long-oppressed Shiite majority.

That deepened the sectarian divide and heightened unrest which killed tens of thousands in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion and which has only eased in the past two years.

The election will usher in a government tasked with tackling myriad problems, including violence, an economy in tatters and endemic corruption.

Seven years after the invasion, much of Baghdad remains bomb-damaged, most homes receive only a few hours of mains electricity a day and lack clean drinking water, and a quarter of Iraqis are illiterate.

Maliki, the Shiite head of the State of Law Alliance, is bidding to become the first Iraqi voted back into office at the will of the people who for decades had no choice but Saddam's Baath Party.

His opponents include Iyad Allawi, a Shiite former prime minister who heads the Iraqiya list, a rival secular coalition that has strong support in Sunni areas, who on Sunday criticised the conduct of election organisers.

"I demand a wide investigation from the new parliament and all senior members of the IHEC should be made accountable," said Allawi.

earlier related report
West says polls show Iraq heading for democracy
Washington (AFP) March 7, 2010 - Europe and the United States praised Iraqi voters for casting their ballots on Sunday despite a wave of violence, saying the polls showed the country was clearly moving forward to a democratic future.

"I congratulate the people of Iraq for casting their ballots in this important parliamentary election," US President Barack Obama said in his first reaction to the crucial vote.

At least 38 people were killed in attacks intended to derail the polls -- seen as a crunch test of the war-shattered nation's young democracy less than six months before American combat troops quit the country.

"We mourn the tragic loss of life today, and honor the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people who once again defied threats to advance their democracy," Obama said in a statement.

The president commended the Iraqi government for how it conducted the polls and Iraq's security forces for manning tens of thousands of voting booths and polling stations across the war-torn nation.

"I have great respect for the millions of Iraqis who refused to be deterred by acts of violence, and who exercised their right to vote today," he said.

"Their participation demonstrates that the Iraqi people have chosen to shape their future through the political process."

Full election results are not expected until March 18, and it will likely take months of horse-trading after that before a new government is formed as no single political bloc is expected to dominate the vote.

"By any measure, this was an important milestone in Iraqi history," Obama said later, reading out a fuller statement on the White House lawn.

"Dozens of parties and coalitions fielded thousands of parliamentary candidates, men and women. Ballots were cast at some 50,000 voting booths.

"And in a strong turnout, millions of Iraqis exercised their right to vote, with enthusiasm and optimism."

The vote was the second parliamentary election held in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion. Partial results were not due until Thursday.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Sunday's bloodshed showed the challenges that Iraq still faces.

"The determination to vote has been significant. But the violence and loss of life shows the extent of the challenge faced by the Iraqi people," he said.

"The Iraqi people, voting in their millions, have made clear they want an effective, accountable and inclusive government, and one which acts in truly national -- not sectarian -- interests."

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner paid tribute to Iraqi voters, saying in a statement that "they have voted for their future and that of their children.

"This bears testimony to the will of the Iraqi people to move beyond the ordeals of the past, to reject terrorism and shows their determination to build a democratic Iraq that looks to the future."

Kouchner said France and its European partners "will be at the Iraqis' side in their struggle for reconstruction and democracy."

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that the turnout "reconfirms the commitment of the Iraqi people to a democratic Iraq. It deserves respect from all.

The 27-nation EU is looking forward to working with the new Iraqi government when it is formed, Ashton said -- a process observers said could take several months as no political group looked likely to dominate the poll.

"The EU continues to support Iraq in its efforts to reconstruct the country and rebuild its political system -- including its transition to democracy. We remain committed to a long term partnership."

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates also hailed the voter turnout and the performance of Baghdad's security forces in Sunday's elections.

"All in all, a good day for the Iraqis and for all of us," Gates told reporters aboard his plane.

Citing the US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, the Pentagon chief said "Iraq security forces have performed superbly and the turnout is as high if not higher than earlier expectations."

In Iraq, officials for the Independent High Electoral Commission said initial forecasts showed voter turnout was at 50 percent or more in all but one of the 16 provinces for which it could provide figures.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News