Felix the Cat
12-15-2005, 05:36 AM
Iraqi polls open in landmark vote (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4530226.stm)
Iraqis are electing their first full-term government since the US-led invasion in 2003 amid tight security.
A loud blast rocked the capital, Baghdad, shortly after the polls opened at 0700 local time (0400GMT).
The country's president, Jalal Talabani, has called on Iraqis to join the vote and make the election a day of national unity and celebration.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Baghdad says a majority of Sunni Muslims are expected to take part in the landmark poll.
The outcome, he says, is likely to be a much higher turnout than the last vote - and potentially a very different, less Shia-dominated government.
He adds that while the violent, predominantly Sunni insurgency is ongoing, it has been much lower than in the run-up to the last polling day on 30 January.
Even some insurgent groups have called on people to vote, though al-Qaeda describes the elections as the work of Satan.
Iraq's election commission says 6,655 candidates, 307 parties and 19 coalitions had registered for Thursday's ballot.
Amid the constant threat of suicide car bombings, private and commercial vehicles have been banned from the streets.
About 150,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers are on patrol and Iraq's borders have also been closed for days.
Explosion
Despite the strict security measures, an explosion was heard in central Baghdad within minutes of the polls opening.
Police said the blast was caused by a mortar landing near the heavily-fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government and a number of Western embassies, the Associated Press reported.
There were no reports of anyone being injured in the explosion.
Among the first people to cast their ballot was Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who voted in the northern city of Sulaimaniya.
"This is a good day and the Iraqi people bear the responsibility to vote for a better future. I hope that the Iraqi people will stay united. We hope that the people will vote to keep the constitution that was approved by the Iraqi people," Mr Talabani said.
The last day of campaigning on Tuesday had been marred by the killing of a prominent Sunni Arab politician.
Iraqi Free Progressive Party leader Mizhar Dulaimi was shot dead in western Iraq.
Four US soldiers were also killed by a roadside bomb in north-west Baghdad.
'Historic opportunity'
On the eve of the poll, US President George W Bush defended the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and said a democratic Iraq would serve as an influence throughout the Middle East.
"Freedom in Iraq will inspire reformers from Damascus to Tehran," he said.
In the last of four keynote speeches on Iraq, Mr Bush accepted responsibility for going to war in Iraq on the basis of faulty intelligence, but said it was still the right choice.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also appealed to Iraqis to vote.
"Your vote will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Iraq's history," he said in a statement.
"I therefore encourage all of you to turn out and exercise your democratic right to vote as a first step towards building together a stable, united and prosperous Iraq.
He also called on all Iraqis "to refrain from violence or any other action which might undermine the democratic process."
Iraqis are electing their first full-term government since the US-led invasion in 2003 amid tight security.
A loud blast rocked the capital, Baghdad, shortly after the polls opened at 0700 local time (0400GMT).
The country's president, Jalal Talabani, has called on Iraqis to join the vote and make the election a day of national unity and celebration.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Baghdad says a majority of Sunni Muslims are expected to take part in the landmark poll.
The outcome, he says, is likely to be a much higher turnout than the last vote - and potentially a very different, less Shia-dominated government.
He adds that while the violent, predominantly Sunni insurgency is ongoing, it has been much lower than in the run-up to the last polling day on 30 January.
Even some insurgent groups have called on people to vote, though al-Qaeda describes the elections as the work of Satan.
Iraq's election commission says 6,655 candidates, 307 parties and 19 coalitions had registered for Thursday's ballot.
Amid the constant threat of suicide car bombings, private and commercial vehicles have been banned from the streets.
About 150,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers are on patrol and Iraq's borders have also been closed for days.
Explosion
Despite the strict security measures, an explosion was heard in central Baghdad within minutes of the polls opening.
Police said the blast was caused by a mortar landing near the heavily-fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government and a number of Western embassies, the Associated Press reported.
There were no reports of anyone being injured in the explosion.
Among the first people to cast their ballot was Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who voted in the northern city of Sulaimaniya.
"This is a good day and the Iraqi people bear the responsibility to vote for a better future. I hope that the Iraqi people will stay united. We hope that the people will vote to keep the constitution that was approved by the Iraqi people," Mr Talabani said.
The last day of campaigning on Tuesday had been marred by the killing of a prominent Sunni Arab politician.
Iraqi Free Progressive Party leader Mizhar Dulaimi was shot dead in western Iraq.
Four US soldiers were also killed by a roadside bomb in north-west Baghdad.
'Historic opportunity'
On the eve of the poll, US President George W Bush defended the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and said a democratic Iraq would serve as an influence throughout the Middle East.
"Freedom in Iraq will inspire reformers from Damascus to Tehran," he said.
In the last of four keynote speeches on Iraq, Mr Bush accepted responsibility for going to war in Iraq on the basis of faulty intelligence, but said it was still the right choice.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan also appealed to Iraqis to vote.
"Your vote will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Iraq's history," he said in a statement.
"I therefore encourage all of you to turn out and exercise your democratic right to vote as a first step towards building together a stable, united and prosperous Iraq.
He also called on all Iraqis "to refrain from violence or any other action which might undermine the democratic process."