That would allow al-Maliki to keep his post only if he can cobble together a coalition - a task that took nine months after the last election in 2010. “God willing, we will celebrate a successful election and defeat terrorism,” al-Maliki told reporters after casting his ballot in Baghdad. He was upbeat about how his party will fare. “Our victory is certain but we are talking about how big is that certain success,” he said.
Even some of al-Maliki's Shiite backers accuse him of trying to amass power for himself, but most in the majority sect see no alternative. Al-Maliki also has the support of neighboring powerhouse Iran, which aides have said will use its weight to push discontented Shiite factions into backing him for another term.
Polls opened across the energy-rich nation at 7 a.m. (local time) and were to close at 6 p.m. There were 22 million eligible voters, choosing from more than 9,000 candidates. Turnout stood at 30 per cent with four hours left to vote, according to Muqdad al-Shuraifi, a senior election commission member.
Election officials did not offer a timetable for releasing results, but they were expected to start trickling out in coming days. Results weren't announced until about two weeks after the 2010 balloting.
