At one point, around 150 to 200 people gathered to vote. The contrast was striking--young families with children, on the one hand, and elderly men and women being carried by relatives on the other.
Samir Sabih, 37, a businessman, came with his sister. "The most important thing is that fear has no place in our hearts anymore. We became free. This is the first time in my life I go to a polling center freely."
_____More on Elections_____
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Photo Gallery: The end of Iraq's Election Day brought indications of strong turnout, but also reports of at least 30 people killed.
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Transcript: The Post's Jackie Spinner discussed the scene in Irbil, where elation at electing a new Kurdish parliament has Kurds partying in the streets.
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Special correspondent Emad Zainal in Basra: About 30 people turned out to vote in the first half hour after a polling center opened in the Abbasiya neighborhood of this Shiite-dominated southern city
Abdul-Hamid Sayab and his 21-year-old daughter, Azal, voted for the communist party. "We came early because we couldn't wait," he said. "This is a historical event that we could vote freely for the first time in decades."
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Special Correspondent Dlovan Brwari in Mosul: Ali Abas Khalid was waiting to vote until he could see if anyone else was going. When he finally cast his ballot, he was so tearful, he was able only to say a few words: "We win."
In areas of the city where Kurds and Christians live, people were angry because ballot boxes had not arrived and they were unable to cast ballots.
Officials ultimately went on television to announce that voting will be permitted Monday for those left out.
In some other areas, voting lists arrived late, delaying balloting. Local voting officials got permission to extend the hours to make sure everyone got a chance.
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Special correspondent Marwan Anie in Kirkuk: Nervous voters lined up at polling centers in this oil-rich city, looking left and right as small arms fire crackled nearby and the sound of an explosion could be heard in the distance. The appearance of Iraqi army and police units near the polling places added to some voters' anxieties -- but reassured others.
"I did not sleep all night long," said Yalchin Mohammad Omar, a Turkmen voter in this ethically divided city, about 150 miles north of Baghdad. "I was frightened, but at dawn, I and my wife made a decision to go to the polls. We did our prayers, and then headed for the ballot center despite the threats, and the chaos overtaking Iraq. . . .
"I felt assured when I saw that security measures in and around the polling center. . . were adequate," Omar added.
Omar said he went to the polls "to choose my leadership in Iraq , so that my vote would not be lost, because a single vote could decide the local elections for the provincial council election."
Shakhwan Hama Aula was undaunted by security concerns. "I don't care much for the threats, and I feel that the building of democracy requires sacrifice," Aula said.
Aula, a Kurdish voter who was driven from the city during the era of Saddam Hussein, returned to Kirkuk after the fall of the former president's government. Aula planned to vote for a Kurdish slate "because they fought for giving us, we the displaced ones, the right to take part in the elections, and today I am here to pay back the favor."
