Thursday, December 15 2005 16:55 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Baghdad: Iraqis voted in a historic parliamentary election today (Dec 15, 2005), with strong turnout reported in Sunni Arab areas that had shunned the election last January. US hopes were high that the election could give Sunnis a greater stake in running the country and help calm the insurgency.

Several explosions rocked Baghdad, including a large one near the heavily fortified Green Zone, and a bomb killed a hospital guard near a polling station in Mosul. But violence overall was light and did not appear to discourage Iraqis, some of whom came to polling stations wrapped in their country's flag.

An alliance of Shiite religious parties, which dominates the current government, was expected to win the largest number of seats - but not enough to form a new administration without a coalition with rival groups. That could set the stage for lengthy and possibly bitter negotiations to produce a government.

Up to 15 million Iraqis were to choose 275 members of the new parliament from among 7,655 candidates running on 996 tickets, representing Shiite, Sunni, Kurdish, Turkomen and sectarian interests across a wide political spectrum. Iraqis do not vote for individual candidates, but instead for lists - or tickets - that compete for the seats in each of the 18 provinces.

Some preliminary returns were expected late today, but final returns could take days, if not weeks.

Sunnis appeared to be turning out in large numbers - even in insurgent bastions such as Ramadi and Haqlaniyah. Major insurgent groups had promised not to attack polling stations.