After a slow start, voters turned out in very large numbers in Baghdad today, packing polling places and creating a party atmosphere in the streets as Iraqis here and nationwide turned out to cast ballots in the country’s first free elections in 50 years.

American officials were showing confidence that today was going to be a big success, despite attacks in Baghdad and other parts of the country that took at least two dozen lives. Agence-France Press reported that the Interior Ministry said 36 people had been killed in attacks.

Preliminary figures showed that 72 percent of registered voters turned out to vote, said a member of the Independent Electorial Commission, Adel Lami, excluding the mainly Sunni Muslim provinces of Anbar and Nineveh. But another official said the early figures should be treated with caution.

Now, the 36 number, I fear, will likely rise. However, while I would not make light of one death, any reasonable observer has to admit that that number if far lower than even the optimists would have predicted (it is certainly far lower than what I expected).

Further, the 72% turnout number, if it holds anywhere near that level, will have to be considered a remarkable success. Of course, that is a preliminary number and the caveat that it excludes two Sunni provinces provides a rather large caution flag.

Really, anyone who thinks that the elections today turned out exactly as expected (which is what Senator Kerry said on MTP this morning) is being, in my opinion, disingenuous. If these numbers are anywhere near accurate, then there is no way to declare the election, warts and all, anything but a success.

Polls have closed in Iraq’s first free election in a half century, with officials reporting a higher than expected turnout of registered voters amid attacks and threats of violence.

Insurgents carried out more than a dozen attacks across the country on Sunday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 71 others.

At least eight suicide bombings took place during the voting. There are reports of a ninth, but CNN has not confirmed those reports.

There were eight other types of attacks as well, including one in which insurgents identified Iraqi civilians as having voted — based on the ink on their fingers — and threw grenades at them, killing them.

A Hercules C-130 British military plane also crashed Sunday in Iraq, the British Ministry of Defense said. There was no immediate word on location or casualties. It was not clear how many people were on the plane

Some came on crutches, others walked for miles then struggled to read the ballot, but across most of Iraq millions turned out to vote Sunday, defying insurgent threats of a bloodbath.

Suicide bombs and mortars killed at least 33 people, but Iraqis still came out in force for the first multi-party poll in 50 years. While in some areas turnout was scant, in most places, including violent Sunni Arab regions, it exceeded expectations.

Many cheered with joy at their first chance to cast a free vote, while others shared chocolates with fellow voters.

Even in Falluja, the Sunni city west of Baghdad that was a militant stronghold until a U.S. assault in November, a steady stream of people turned out, confounding expectations. Lines of veiled women clutching their papers waited in line to vote.

“We want to be like other Iraqis, we don’t want to always be in opposition,” said Ahmed Jassim, smiling after he voted.

In Baquba, a rebellious city northeast of Baghdad, spirited crowds clapped and danced at one voting station. In Mosul, scene of some of the worst insurgent attacks in recent months, U.S. and local officials said turnout was surprisingly high.
That said, there were also areas of the Sunni heartland where turnout was scarce and intimidation appeared to have won. .

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Even in the so-called “triangle of death,” a hotbed of Sunni insurgency south of Baghdad, turnout was solid, officials said.

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Western Baghdad polling stations were busy, with long queues of voters. Most went about the process routinely, filling in their ballots and leaving quickly without much emotion.

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In Samarra, a restive Sunni-Shi’ite city north of Baghdad, only about 100 people voted at one of two polling sites. One woman, covered head-to-toe in black robes, kept her face concealed, but said she had voted with pride.
In nearby Baiji, some people were unable to vote because electoral officials failed to turn up. “We are waiting for the manager with the key,” said an election worker, apologizing.

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In Kirkuk, Kurds turned out in force, as expected, but Arabs and Turkmen appeared to boycott, angered by what they saw as voting rules that favor Kurds.
By the end of the day in Baghdad, voters were running to polling stations to get there before polls closed at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT). Some old women were pulled along by young sons. One of the biggest surprises was Mosul, a mixed Sunni Arab and Kurd city in the far north, where U.S. army officers said they were surprised to see long lines at many voting centers.

Baghdad’s mayor was overcome with emotion by the turnout of voters at City Hall, where he said thousands were celebrating.
“I cannot describe what I am seeing. It is incredible. This is a vote for the future, for the children, for the rule of law, for humanity, for love,” Alaa al-Tamimi told Reuters.