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Election day sees peaceful voting – and cynicism

Despite insurgents' threats to disrupt voting, Iraqis went to the polls in peace. But record numbers stayed home, and some parties are alleging fraud.
A girl wrapped in a flag of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party's founder, the late president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, waits at a polling station in Kirkuk on May 12, 2018. (KAMARAN AL-NAJAR/Iraq Oil Report)

KIRKUK - Polling stations across Iraq saw relatively low turnout Saturday as citizens voted in the first national elections since the war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) said 44.5 percent of eligible voters had participated in the election, down from 60 percent four years ago. Results are expected Monday.

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