Iraqi voters defy attacks

2005-01-31 08:04

Baghdad - Voters turned out in surprisingly high numbers for Iraq's first free election in half a century, defying insurgents who unleashed suicide bombers and mortar attacks that killed at least 37 people.

US President George W Bush congratulated the people of Iraq on "this great and historic achievement" but cautioned more hard work remained to turn the war-weary state into a democracy.

Despite a huge security clampdown, rebels targeted polling stations and even the home of a minister to try to wreck Sunday's election that took Iraq a step further from Saddam's legacy.

"In great numbers and under great risk, Iraqis have shown their commitment to democracy. By participating in free elections, the Iraqi people have firmly rejected the anti-democratic ideology of the terrorists," Bush said.

An official with Iraq's electoral commission said it estimated about eight million people took part, roughly 60% of registered voters, but cautioned the figures were preliminary.

Insurgents who vowed to turn election day into a bloodbath killed 30 civilians and six police, while a US marine was killed in the western province of Al-Anbar.

Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who is expected to play a lead role in the next government, hailed the election for a 275-member assembly to draw up a new constitution and lay the groundwork for a post-Saddam future.

"This is the start of a new era. For the first time, Iraqis are deciding on their own future and defying the terrorist forces," he declared.

The majority Shiite community and Kurds concentrated in the north had been predicted to vote in high numbers in one of the most dangerous and controversial elections of modern times.

But the election commission said even among Sunni Arabs, turnout was higher than expected despite boycott calls from clerics and politicians.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi and mainly US foreign troops were on the streets to counter threats by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - whose group claimed to have "spoiled the party" with suicide attacks.

The government sealed frontiers, closed Baghdad international airport and imposed a night-time curfew during the poll. Vehicle traffic near polling stations was also banned.

Despite the measures, Iraq's government said 36 people were killed and almost 100 wounded on Sunday. About nine suicide bombers also died, officials said.

In one of Sunday's deadliest attacks, a bomber wearing an explosives-packed belt killed seven civilians and two policemen outside a polling station.

A bomb tore apart a bus of Sunnis being ferried to a polling station south of Baghdad, killing five and wounding 14, police said.

Shiites, who make up 60% of the population, flocked to vote in southern Iraq.

"I had often been forced to vote under Saddam Hussein. Today I come out of my own will to choose freely the candidate of my choice," said 80-year-old Mahdeya Saleh in Najaf.

- AFP