BAGHDAD, Dec 16: More than two-thirds of Iraq’s electorate voted in Thursday’s election, officials claimed, spawning hope for the country and boosting the prospect of encouraging Sunnis back into politics.

One day after the election, with Iraq still subjected to tough security measures, millions of ballot papers were being counted in the vote for the first full-term government since Saddam Hussein fell from power in 2003.

In stark contrast to a January poll, the election was marked by minimal violence and high turnout, including in Sunni areas that had until now largely boycotted the US-led political transition to sovereignty.

“The number of those who took part in the ballot should be between 10 and 11 million voters, according to our first estimates,” said electoral official Farid Ayar. Eleven million voters would put turnout at just over 70 per cent.

International monitors said the election had ‘generally’ met international standards despite some procedural issues and hailed the organizers for meeting a ‘difficult challenge’. Abroad, 320,000 expatriates voted in the election.

Although final results are not expected for at least two weeks, a Western diplomat said a preliminary estimate could be available in four to five days.

In rough estimates, Iraqis seem to have cast ballots along sectarian lines, with Shia parties scoring well in strongholds in the south, the main Kurdish Alliance romping home in the north, with strong turnout in Sunni regions.

“For Iraq it is very important, as it will determine whether the country will slide further into civil war or perhaps can still be pulled back from the abyss,” said Joost Hiltermann from the International Crisis Group.

Despite the enormity ahead of creating a viable government strong enough to crush violence, global leaders hailed the vote, which millions in Iraq and abroad hope will sap support for guerillas and allow foreign troops to leave.

US President George Bush said the vote was a ‘major step forward’ in having ‘a democratic Iraq, a country able to sustain itself and defend itself’.

Around 2,155 US soldiers have been killed in Iraq since 2003, causing Mr Bush’s approval ratings to plunge amid increasing calls for troops to come home.

With a massive security operation to guard against attacks, the number of voters, out of an eligible electorate of 15.5 million, appeared to have surpassed turnout in the October referendum and the Jan 30 elections.

Newspapers across the Arab world hailed Sunni participation as a ‘turning point’—AFP