Iraqis held their most peaceful election since the fall of Saddam Hussein today as they voted for provincial councils without a single major attack reported anywhere in the country.
Iraqis have voted today amid tight security in the first election in the country since 2005.
Just under 15 million of Iraq's 28 million people were registered to vote for provincial councils that select powerful regional governors in 14 out of Iraq's 18 provinces.
"The purple fingers have returned to build Iraq," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a televised address after the polls closed, referring to the indelible ink stains on index fingers that show voters have cast their ballots.
"This is a victory for all the Iraqis," he said.
US President Barack Obama also congratulated Iraq. "I congratulate the people of Iraq on holding significant provincial elections today," Mr Obama said in a statement today.
Citing the Iraqi government's management of the elections and security forces' role in protecting polling places, Mr Obama said: "This important step forward should continue the process of Iraqis taking responsibility for their future."
The 2005 election took place amid an al-Qaeda-inspired Sunni insurgency and was followed by a surge in sectarian slaughter between once dominant Sunni Arabs and majority Shia Muslims. That violence has dropped dramatically since 2007, however.
A defence Ministry spokesman said of Saturday's vote: "No security breaches took place during the election. Things went as we planned and as we hoped."
"I consider it a great success, like a wedding."
Mr Maliki, who claims credit for improving security, aims to use the election to build a power base in the provinces before national polls later this year. Sunni Arab groups who boycotted the last provincial polls hope to win a share of local power.
There was something of a holiday atmosphere in many parts of the country. In normally traffic-choked Baghdad, children took advantage of a ban on cars to play soccer in the streets.
"How can we not vote? All of us here have always complained about being oppressed and not having a leader who represented us. Now is our chance," said one Basra voter.
In the only reported incidents countrywide, mortar rounds landed in former dictator Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, but no one was hurt, and Iraqi troops shot one person dead and wounded another after a quarrel in Baghdad's Sadr City slum.
US forces killed two Iraqi police officers during a raid in Mosul in early morning before polls opened. The circumstances were not fully explained.
In addition, five candidates were assassinated in the run-up to Saturday's election - three just two days before the vote.
The 140,000 US troops in Iraq had patrols on the streets and helicopters in the sky but mostly kept a low profile.
Still, there were glitches. Thousands of people failed to find their names on voter registration lists and could not vote.
Three Kurdish provinces will vote separately, and the election was indefinitely postponed in the divided northern city of Kirkuk, a potential flashpoint, to avoid a showdown between Kurds and Arabs vying for control there.
Around 14,400 candidates competed for 440 council seats in the elections.
Mr Maliki, once seen as a weak leader installed by more powerful Shia parties, has seen his stature rise over the past year after a crackdown on militias. He has toured the country in recent weeks campaigning with a law-and-order theme, and there were signs he had won support in once hostile areas.
Reuters