Iraqis headed to the polls on Wednesday in their first national election since United States forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki seeking a third term amid rising violence, according to the Associated Press.
Iraq's western province of Anbar is torn by fighting as Sunni Muslim militants battle the Iraqi military, the AP reported. Its economy is struggling and Maliki faces criticism that he is aggravating sectarian splits and trying to consolidate power.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. with a vehicle curfew imposed on the streets of Baghdad, according to the AP. Voters will choose from among 9,012 candidates and the parliamentary election will effectively serve as a referendum on Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim who has governed for eight years.
Maliki was among the first to cast a vote at a hotel next to the heavily fortified Green Zone enclave where the government is based. He urged people to follow suit despite security threats, the AP reported.
"I call upon the Iraqi people to head in large numbers to the ballot boxes to send a message of deterrence and a slap to the face of terrorism," Maliki told reporters, according to the AP.
Political analysts say no party is likely to win a majority in the 328-seat parliament, the AP reported. Forming a government may be hard even if Maliki's State of Law alliance wins the most seats as expected, although he was confident of another victory.
"Our victory is confirmed but we are still talking about how big this victory will be," Maliki said as polls close at 6 p.m., according to the AP. "Definitely our expectations are high."
Maliki faces challenges from Shi'ite and Sunni rivals and has portrayed himself as his majority Shi'ite community's defender against the Sunni, al Qaeda-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the AP reported.