Booths opened in two major cities of Australia on early Friday morning for Iraqi expatriates living in the country to vote in elections for Iraqi national assembly.
The first votes in the world in the Iraq elections were cast after polling centers opened in Sydney, capital of the state of New South Wales (NSW), and Melbourne, capital of the state of Victoria, at 7:00 a.m. local time on Friday (20:00 GMT on Thursday) . Polling will close at 17:00 (06:00 GMT) on Sunday.
Iraqis living in other parts of Australia have to travel to the two cities to vote in Iraq's first democratic national elections.
Security is tight around the polling stations, with metal detectors and handbag searches used.
However, the voters turnout is low, with only some 11,800 registered to vote in Australia, compared with a total of 50,000 Iraqis living in Australia.
It was reported that only a few dozen Iraqis living in the northeast state of Queensland are expected to make the 2,000-km round trip to NSW or Victoria to cast their votes. There are about 700 Iraqis living in Brisbane, Queensland's capital.
Results of counting from the Australian booths are expected to be released late next week.