| May 2012 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
Early reports are that there’s violence, but it isn’t halting a large voter turnout:
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sunday, Jan. 30 – Iraqis began casting ballots Sunday morning in the country’s first free elections in more than 50 years, and scattered insurgent attacks began soon after, including a car bombing that killed at least one police officer in western Baghdad.
[The Associated Press and Reuters reported that a suicide bomber strapped with explosives blew himself up at a polling place in western Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding others. There were mortar attacks around the capital, including one in the southern part of the city that killed at least two people. Mortar attacks were reported in other cities, including Baquba, Basra, Hilla and Mosul.]
...Several explosions broke out across Baghdad on Sunday morning, especially in the southwestern section of the city. American attack helicopters circled over the city center, and the roar of fighter jets could be heard from high above.
Still, two hours after polls opened, voters appeared to be turning out in large numbers in the capital.
At the Arabiya school in the Karada district of central Baghdad, plastic ballot boxes already had scores of large, folded ballots stacked inside just an hour after voting began.
Qasim Muhammad Saleh, 45, walking with his two sons, Sajad, 5, and Jowid, 12, had just come from voting at Lebanon High School. The boys were carrying Iraqi flags, and Mr. Saleh’s right index finger carried the ink marks showing he had cast his ballot.
“We now have our freedom,” he said. “After 35 years, we finally got rid of Saddam and now we can vote for whoever we want.
“After casting my ballots, I’m hoping that the situation will improve.”
Nearby, at the Nawfal primary school in Karada, there was a steady stream of people lining up to go through the barbed wire checkpoint in order to vote. Inside, people were shrugging off the sounds of explosions, and the mood was upbeat, even enthusiastic, as they went through the voting process.
Voters appeared to be turning out in large numbers in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, especially in Sulaimaniya, where attacks have been muted, news services reported.
