"Even though there were many explosions last night, and even if there are more now or on my way to the polling center, I will come and vote," declared Mizhar Abud Salman, heading to a schoolhouse polling center in Saddam Hussein's home region of Tikrit.
"Turnout high for most peaceful vote so far":
The relative calm surrounding today's poll contrasted sharply with the January 30 vote for an interim assembly, during which about 40 people were killed.
In another important contrast with earlier votes, Sunni Arabs today appeared determined to have more say in government, ending their boycott of the electoral process.
"Why they vote":
Iraqis are not about to forget where they have been or to yield easily to those who would drag them back there. Threaten to kill them if they vote, and 8 million turn out on Election Day. Blow up a dozen men applying to join the police force, and the survivors are back in line the next morning.
Yes, there is violent death in Iraq today, as there was in the old Iraq. The difference is that then Iraqis were subjects, defenseless against one of the most brutal dictatorships on the planet. Now they are citizens of a nation that is transforming itself into the freest and most progressive democracy the Arab world has ever known. Then, they lived with daily terror and misery, and faced a future that promised only more of the same. Now, Hussein and his lieutenants are on trial, and the future Iraqis face is one they know will be of their own making.
BBC: Iraqi voters talk about their vote.
Zarawi threatens vote, but Iraqis are defiant:
In Tahrir Square posters were hung depicting Zarqawi dressed as a blood-red monster with the motto: "He wants to destroy elections, democracy, progress." There are growing signs that Sunni Arabs, who have led the insurgency for more than two years, will vote in unprecedented numbers.
Sunni turnout strong:
Today, Sunnis appeared to be voting in large numbers, even in hotbeds of insurgent activity such as Ramadi and Haqlaniya. Major insurgent groups had promised not to attack polling stations, and some polling centres in Ramadi were guarded by masked gunmen.
"I came here and voted in order to prove that Sunnis are not a minority in this country," lawyer Yahya Abdul-Jalil said in Ramadi. "We lost a lot during the last elections, but this time we will take our normal and key role in leading this country."
"Election Stakes Are Highest Yet in Iraq"
Leaders predict a secular-Islamist split:
Between them are profound differences over the direction of the country and the nature of the Iraqi state, not just over how heavily it should influenced by Islam but also over the powers of the central government and the autonomy granted to local regions. Implicit in those questions, for many Iraqis, is whether the country can survive at all.
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