[Ricardo Nunes]

By Matt Spetalnick
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Millions of Iraqis flocked to vote in a historic election Sunday, defying insurgents who killed 33 people in bloody attacks aimed at wrecking the poll.

Voters, some ululating with joy, others hiding their faces in fear, cast ballots in higher-than-expected numbers in their first multi-party election in half a century.

Election officials estimated the turnout at 72 percent, a figure that -- if confirmed -- would enhance the legitimacy of a national assembly that will choose Iraq's new leaders. But in parts of Iraq's Sunni Arab heartland, where the insurgency has been bloodiest, some streets and polling stations were deserted.

Militants struck mainly in Baghdad, rocking the capital with nine suicide blasts in rapid succession. The Iraqi wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility.

Casting his vote in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi urged his countrymen to face down the insurgents.

"This is a historic moment for Iraq, a day when Iraqis can hold their heads high because they are challenging the terrorists and starting to write their future with their own hands," he told reporters.

A low Sunni turnout could raise questions about the credibility of the first election since Saddam Hussein was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion in April 2003.

Many fear that instead of quelling the anti-U.S. revolt, the poll could foment sectarian strife by further alienating Sunnis, delaying any withdrawal of American-led forces from the country.

Despite draconian security measures imposed by Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government, militants waged a sustained assault to try to frighten people away from the polls.

SUICIDE BOMBINGS

At least 27 people were killed in Baghdad attacks, including suicide bombings carried out by a Syrian and a Chechen, interim Interior Minister Falab al-Naqib told Reuters.    
The deadliest attack was when a man with explosives strapped to his body blew himself up in the queue at a polling station in east Baghdad, killing six people, an official said.
Another suicide bomber killed four people at a voting center in the Sadr City slums, a Shi'ite stronghold. A suicide bomb also killed three people in a bus carrying voters south of Baghdad, Polish military in the area said.

Despite Sunday's violence, election officials said by mid-afternoon that turnout had been far above expectations, though they gave no voter numbers. The government had set a target of at least 50 percent of Iraq's 13 million registered voters as the barometer of success.

With international monitors mostly staying away for fear of kidnapping, it was impossible to assess the fairness of the election or validity of the turnout figures.

Polling stations officially closed at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT), but officials said people already in line could still vote.

Voters formed long queues in Shi'ite areas and the Kurdish north, where officials said turnout topped 90 and 80 percent, respectively. Many chanted and clapped. Some walked for miles.

"This is a wedding for all Iraqis. I congratulate all Iraqis on their newfound freedom," said Jaida Hamza, dressed in a black Islamic robe, in the Shi'ite shrine city of Najaf.

Even in Falluja, the battle-scarred Sunni city that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a slow stream of people turned out, confounding expectations.

Militant groups, including al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, had declared war on democracy, vowing to kill any "infidel" who voted.

Interim Defense Minister Hazim al-Shaalan said Sunday's violence would have been much worse if there had not been stringent measures banning private cars from the streets, which prevented even deadlier attacks with car bombs.

TIGHT SECURITY

To try to prevent violence, streets were barricaded, borders sealed, airports closed and only official vehicles allowed out.
Iraq's 60 percent-majority Shi'ites, oppressed for decades under Saddam, were expected to dominate the polls. Kurds, who make up nearly a fifth of Iraqis, want a result that enables them to enshrine their autonomous rule in the north.
Several Sunni parties are boycotting the polls, saying the insurgency raging in their areas and the presence of more than 150,000 U.S.-led troops make a fair vote impossible.

A Shi'ite alliance formed under the guidance of top cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is almost sure to win the most votes for a 275-seat parliament. But Allawi, leading a secular alliance, could be a consensus candidate to stay in office.

Iraqi police and soldiers were out in force but U.S. and British forces stood back to avoid the impression of Iraqis voting under occupiers' guns.

Officials expect preliminary election results in six to seven days and final results in about 10 days.

© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

  http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtm ... geNumber=0

Quer se tenha apoiado ou não a intervenção da coligação, este é um dia histórico para o Iraque, para o Médio Oriente e para o mundo em geral.

Os supostos "lutadores pela liberdade" afinal de contas não passam, na sua maioria, de estrangeiros suícidas que declaram guerra à democracia.
Para o bem e para o mal a coragem de todos os que votaram demonstrou-lhes a convicção de que, afinal, nem tudo é o que parece.

Este poderá ser o início de uma nova era. Esperemos que assim o seja.

Cumprimentos,

[fgomes]

Parece que os iraquianos estão a surpreender muita gente!
Não há dúvidas que os partidos xiitas vão ganhar as eleições. Vamos ver que participação vai haver nas zonas sunitas. Se esta for reduzida, e se o terrorismo fundamentalista continuar a alvejar os xiitas, corre-se o risco de estes, agora no governo, serem tentados a retaliar violentamente, até porque razões de queixa dos sunitas, não faltam.