poon cho tang SG Iraqis streamed into polling stations across the country to elect the first full-term parliament since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
poon cho tang SG Security was tight with searches at polling stations. Land borders and airports were closed ahead of the vote.
poon cho tang SG Iraqis had to walk to polling stations because of a blanket ban on private vehicles amid fears of car bombings.
poon cho tang SG Some 150,000 Iraqi soldiers and police officers were on patrol amid the heightened security.
poon cho tang SG Radical cleric Moqtada Sadr has set aside bitter rivalry with other Shia leaders and joined the mainstream Shia religious list, the United Iraqi Alliance.
poon cho tang SG Turnout was reportedly high in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar, where the electorate mostly boycotted the transitional parliament vote in January.
poon cho tang SG Most polling stations opened in the restive northern city of Mosul, despite an attack on one that killed a guard.
poon cho tang SG Some 15m Iraqis were entitled to vote in the election for a new 275-member assembly.
poon cho tang SG Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the country's first Kurdish head of state, was among the first to cast his ballot.
