The Iraqi parliamentary election is over. By preliminary reports the turnout made up some 65%. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is in the lead in the Shia-populated areas, while his main rival, the leader of the Al-Iraqiya liberal-patriotic bloc Iyad Allawi is leading in the Sunni-populated regions.
The vote count began on Sunday night right after the polling stations closed. According to exit polls, quoted by European and Arab satellite TV channels, Iyad Allawi is ahead of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in overall count. But independent sources in Baghdad have so far failed to confirm the fact. Allawi led the interim government following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003. 54% of respondents said on the eve of the election that they would cast their ballots for him. Nouri al-Maliki, believed to be the front-runner, emerged second with 43% of respondents claiming they would support him. Meanwhile the independent supreme election commission of Iraq urged the political parties to wait until the official returns were made public. The Commission head Faraj al-Haydari told a news conference in Baghdad that the election results would usher in a new era of democratic system and peaceful change of government on rotational basis.
The parliamentary election was transparent, says the head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq Ad Melkert. He feels that Iraqis, especially the residents of Baghdad, have said a resolute "No" to violence. According to the UN official, the election was a victory of reason over confrontation and violence. Iraqis have made their history and an important move towards national reconciliation.
Meanwhile the emergency security measures by the Iraqi authorities and US Army units on Sunday failed to protect voters against acts of terror. 38 people died and dozens were wounded when polling stations came under fire from terrorists. Militants launched some 40 mortar shells at targets in Baghdad alone despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of Army servicemen and policemen patrolled city streets. Additional checkpoints were erected so close to each other that voters were actually frisked every 50 metres as they were making for their polling stations. Iraqis claim that the military seized even cigarettes and lighters from them, just in case.
The militants' attempt to intimidate Iraqis by launching a terrorist war on Sunday proved a failure. The voters did turn up at their voting stations, says the chairman of the supervisory board of the Institute of Demography, Migration and Regional Development Yuri Krupnov, and elaborates.
The heavy turnout, Yuri Krupnov says, owes to the fact that today most Iraqis realize the importance of a balanced political system and are focused on ways to achieve this, which means they should go to their polling stations and cast their ballots. An alternative they may face are deformations that will cost dearly to the entire Iraqi society.
It is not before the middle of this week that the first preliminary returns are due to be made public, so it becomes known who is winning a majority in parliament and will qualify for the right to form a new Cabinet The final returns are expected by later this month.
The Voice of Russia on Sunday's parliamentary election in Iraq.
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