The polls have closed, but a door of hope has opened for Iraq.

Millions of Iraqis across the country headed to voting stationson Sunday in Iraq's first elections since the former regime wasdowned in April 2003, defying insurgents who made good of threatsto attack voters who chose to vote for a better future.

No car bombs were reported throughout the day thanks tointensified security measures taken by US-Iraqi forces, buthardcore insurgents wearing explosive-laden belts blew upthemselves outside several voting stations with queues of voters.

Around 14 million Iraqis, about half of the population,registered to vote in the elections. Some eligible voters did notregister either due to intimidation or because they were boycottingthe polls. But the majority say nothing can stop them fromparticipating in Sunday's elections.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) previously saidpreliminary figures indicated 72 percent of the 14 millionregistered voters turned out two hours before the polls closed.However, the organizing body later played down the turnout to about60 percent.

Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar was among the first to voteSunday shortly after the polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (0400GMT).

Smiling as he walked out of the polling booth, the Sunni Arableader said, "Thanks God. I hope everyone will go out and vote, Godwilling."

Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi later cast his vote inthe heavily-fortified Green Zone complex in Baghdad, home to the USand the interim Iraqi government.

Speaking to reporters outside the voting booth, a beaming Allawisaid the very fact that the election went as scheduled was anachievement.

"This is an accomplishment the government and myself are veryproud of," he said. "This is the start of a new era. For the firsttime, Iraqis are deciding on their own future and defying theterrorist forces."

The Iraqi interim government has pulled out all stops to ensurea smooth voting, deploying tens of thousands of security forcesacross the country and imposing traffic restrictions in majorcities.

While insurgent groups' threats to wash cities with voters'blood if they dare venture out, hundreds of thousands of voters,with bring-them-on attitude, braved potential mortar or rocketattacks in order to have their voices heard in a process to reshapethe country's future political life.

Capt. Aysar, a police officer guarding a Baghdad Mansourdistrict polling station, told Xinhua that people were not scaredaway from the polls as a suicide bomber who blew himself up just afew hours ago in the area.

Najiba Mehdi, 73, who cast his ballot at a polling booth inKadhimiya district in Baghdad, said "I am here to exercise my legalright. Electing Iraqi leaders can ensure my children's safety. I amold. I just want to do something for them."

Mehdi was not alone. Her voice was echoed by Alwan Albulush, alawyer, who told Xinhua inside a Mansour booth, "I am very veryexcited today. I think every ballot is a bullet fired atterrorists. All Iraqis should come and vote. We need an electedgovernment which should be strong enough to say no to the USforces."

The government's repeated calls for voters' participation andheavy guarding paid off as voters headed to the polling centerseven in Sunni-dominated restive cities like Falluja, Ramadi andSamarra.

Abdul Rahman, a Falluja resident, said, "people expressed theirhope by voting that the new government will reward them byrebuilding their destroyed houses. People are so desperate becauseonly about 20 percent of the city population returned to theirhouses or the remains of their houses."

The US-Iraqi forces launched an all-out offensive on Fallujalast November in an effort to uproot insurgents there. The weeks-long attack virtually reduced the Sunni stronghold to rubble andforced most of 250,000 residents to flee.

Some other regions witnessed soaring turnout. In the Kurdishregions in northern Iraq, where security is tighter, there was asteady flow of people to the polls, live television picturesshowed.

In the southern city of Najaf, capital of Iraq's Shiiteheartland and site of the sect's holiest shrine, people flocked tothe polling stations with a tight security ring.

Sunday's elections began at 7:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) and closed at5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT). Iraqi officials hope for a turnout of atleast 50 percent to lend legitimacy to the elections, which areexpected to usher in a new era for the oil-rich but violence-shattered country.

The elections were designed to choose a 275-seat NationalAssembly which will pick up a transitional government and overseethe writing of a permanent constitution put for a nationalreferendum by Oct. 15.

In addition, some 280,000 Iraqi expatriates, about a quarter ofthe eligible, have registered to vote and the InternationalOrganization for Migration which is in charge of the out-of-countryvoting said nearly two-thirds of them had voted since overseaspolling stations opened in 14 countries on Friday.