Polls have opened in Iraq’s first elections since the US withdrawal. Violence has marred the run-up to the vote, leaving more than 100 dead in the past week and 14 candidates killed since campaigning began.
Voting began at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) Saturday for provincial councils in 12 of Iraq’s 18 governorates. More than 8,000 candidates from 50 electoral blocs are running for 378 positions.
Though the results will not directly affect Iraq’s national leadership, the vote will test support for political blocs in the run-up to 2014’s parliamentary elections.
But the credibility of the provincial elections has come into question, with attacks on candidates leaving 14 dead and a third of Iraq’s provinces — all of them mainly Sunni Arab or Kurdish — not even voting.
“Security is the most important problem that all of them (provincial councils) should be working for; without this, life would be so difficult. I hope this is the first thing they work towards.” a university student Abdulsahib Ali Abdulsahib, 22, told AFP at a polling station in central Baghdad after voting began at about 7:00 am (0400 GMT).
Voters were searched twice before being allowed to enter, and Iraqi security forces had a heavy presence in the area. Only pre-approved vehicles were allowed on the streets, largely deserted except for police and soldiers.
Security forces fielded large presences elsewhere in the country, but measures were toughest in Baghdad.
The lead-up to the vote was blighted by a rise in violence that left more than 100 people dead in the past week and 14 election candidates killed since campaigning began.
Six of Iraq’s 18 provinces are not participating — two because authorities say security cannot be ensured, and four because of various political disagreements.
Those two factors have led diplomats to worry about the credibility of the election, as they could result in a low voter turnout, leading to results that are unrepresentative or not broadly accepted.