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Despite gains, Iraq elections still tainted with violence
Iraq votes today in what is being seen as a critical election for the future of the country and for the wider Middle East.
The ballot has already been tainted by allegations of fraud, intimidation and incomplete registration lists, which are believed to have affected thousands of security personnel involved in early voting.
Violence has also cast its shadow. Yesterday, a car bomb killed four Iranian pilgrims and wounded more than 50 other people, just a few hundred meters from the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam and an area that was believed to be safe.
At least 49 people have been killed in the last days of campaigning, including soldiers and police officers on their way to polling stations. Al Qa'eda in Iraq yesterday issued a warning that anyone turning out to vote ran the risk of being killed in planned attacks. Such details underline the exceptional circumstances in which today's national elections, the second since Saddam Hussein's removal from power in 2003, are taking place.