Iraq holds first provincial elections in a decade

BAGHDAD — Iraq held provincial elections on Monday in 15 of the country's 18 provinces after a 10-year hiatus over political differences.

Voting began after 7 am local time when 7,166 polling centers opened under tight security measures, as millions of Iraqis voted in Baghdad and other cities in all provinces excluding the three provinces of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region. The polling centers closed at 6 pm.

According to figures from Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission, about 16 million people are eligible to vote in the provincial elections, including security personnel and internally displaced persons who cast their votes in early voting two days ago.

On Saturday, the electoral commission said in a news conference that the turnout of early voting reached 67 percent.

It said "706,805 out of 1,050,653 eligible voters cast their votes" in early voting for security forces and internally displaced persons.

Voters are expected to choose new members for the provincial councils from 5,901 candidates who are vying for 285 seats.

"I have never missed a chance to vote since 2005 because I believe in change," Aqeel al-Assadi, a 58-year-old high school headmaster, said.

Lamia Mahmud, a 59-year-old civil servant, voted to build the country. "We want to develop the country, we do not want to stay behind," she said.

The last provincial elections in Iraq were held in April 2013.

Around 6.6 million voters cast ballots out of more than 16.1 million who were eligible, Reuters cited state media on Monday, ahead of the announcement of preliminary results on Tuesday. Voter turnout hit 41 percent.

It came ahead of a general election due in 2025.

Twenty years on, Iraqis remain aggrieved over the US invasion of their home country.

In 2003, the United States launched a special military operation in Iraq, without authorization from the United Nations. The ensuing eight years of bloody war claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions of Iraqis.

Xinhua - Agencies