Iraq to get rid of sectarian politics

Polls have opened across Iraq in the country's second nation-wide vote since the 2003 US invasion. The latest go at electing a new parliament will test the country's fledging democracy.

About 19 million Iraqis are eligible to vote in the election. They will determine who will lead the country as US forces withdraw. The vote will also show whether the country can move beyond sectarianism.

Around 6 thousand and 200 candidates are competing for 325 seats in the new parliament.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was among the first to cast his vote on Sunday morning in Baghdad.

He expressed confidence that elections would run smoothly.

Nouri Al-Maliki, Iraqi Prime Minister, said, "There is a major role for the monitors of the political entities who are stationed at voting centers. They will prevent any attempt of fraud and forgery. I am assured that the election process is going well."

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani voted in the Kurdish city of Sula-mani-yah, while Ammar al-Hakim, the head of the Iraqi Islamic Supreme Council, cast his vote at another polling station in the capital.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdistan region, Barham Saleh, expressed hope for the election after casting his ballot in Irbil.

Barham Saleh, PM of Iraq's Kurdish Region, said, "We hope that the election process will be transparent, democratic and honest. And we hope that tranquility will prevail. For our part, the Kurdistan government will do its best to ensure the security of elections."

Security is tight across the capital. Borders and airports have been closed, and thousands of Iraqi military and police patrol the streets.

Many Iraqis say they hope the election will help the country achieve national reconciliation as US troops are set to withdraw by the end of next year.