Iraqis vote in first election since US withdrawal

           
Iraqis cast ballots in regional elections Saturday amid tight security, marking the country's first vote since the U.S. military withdrawal and a key test of its stability.                           

The results will not directly affect the shape of Iraq's national government. But the vote will be an important barometer of support for Iraq's various political blocs heading into 2014 parliamentary elections, and the outcome could exacerbate sectarian tensions.                       

Saturday's vote will also test the Iraqi army and police, who face a reviving al-Qaida insurgency and are for the first time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion securing an election on their own.                         

As in past elections, officials have ratcheted up security precautions to thwart attempts by insurgents to disrupt the vote.                         

Security cordons are set up around polling places, and only authorized vehicles are being allowed on the streets in major cities. Voters dipped an index finger in ink after casting ballots to ensure each person voted only once.                      

There were no immediate reports of violence in the hours after voting got underway at 7 a.m. local time.                     

But militants have stepped up attacks in recent days. A wave of car bombings and other attacks Monday killed at least 55 and wounded more than 200. Attacks have continued throughout the week, including a suicide bombing at a packed cafe late Thursday that left 32 dead.                           

Iraqi state television showed government officials, including Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, casting their ballots at the Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.    

Voting is taking place at more than 5,300 polling centers for members of provincial councils who will serve in 12 of Iraq's 18 governorates. Thousands of candidates from 50 electoral blocs are running for 378 positions.                         

Iraqis last elected members of provincial councils in January 2009.                       

The last time Iraqis voted, in national elections in 2010, al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated State of Law coalition faced a strong challenge from the Iraqiya bloc, which sought support from Sunnis as well as secular-minded Shiites.                     

Majority Shiites have headed the succession of Iraqi administrations that followed the ouster of Saddam Hussein and his Sunni-led regime in 2003.                         

Iraqiya is running in this election too, but it is now fragmented. Prominent figures such as Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq who previously banded with Iraqiya are fielding their own slates of candidates rather than running under the Iraqiya banner.                       

In Baghdad and the Shiite-dominated south, State of Law also will face a challenge from Shiite rivals the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council and anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Sadrist Trend. A strong showing by them could undermine support for al-Maliki's bloc heading into next year's national elections.   


AP