BAGHDAD, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Voting in Iraq's provincial elections closed Saturday with only two instances of violence reported as a festive mood prevailed among officials, observers said.
Iraq's Electoral Commission said preliminary results from the polling, the first in Iraq since 2005, were expected "soon" after the polls closed, CNN reported.
The U.S. broadcaster quoted an unnamed Iraqi high officials calling the provincial elections election "truly a proud moment" and said there was a noticeably increased sense of optimism among voters compared to the poll four years earlier.
"We are trying to build a new system of government in the heart of the Islamic Middle East," said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh.
Weapons fire near polling stations in Tikrit delayed but did not halt voting during Saturday's elections in 14 Iraqi provinces, government officials said.
No one was injured when three mortar shells landed near polling stations in the hometown of the late Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, the BBC reported.
The voting marked the first time in years that no one had been injured or killed trying to cast a ballot, The New York Times reported.
A total of 14,000 candidates vied for 440 seats in 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces. Eight of the candidates had been killed in the run-up to the election, the BBC reported.
Though overall voter turnout was light, the number of Sunni voters remained high, especially in Anbar province, a Sunni area that boycotted the 2005 elections in opposition to the U.S.-led invasion, CNN reported.
Tight security and a vehicle curfew were imposed, including the closing of airports and borders. Thousands of troops guarded about 7,000 polling stations.
In Ramadi, Iraqi police cars blasted festive music outside a polling station as one man looked on with his 7-year-old brother.
"I want him to learn about democracy," the man said.
