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'It's been a good day for Iraq'

Quote:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Vote counting in Iraq began Thursday night after a surprisingly high number of voters turned out to choose the nation's first full-term parliament since Saddam Hussein's ouster.

Results from the 33,000 polling stations probably won't be available for "two weeks or more," said Farid Ayar, spokesman for the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq.

Officials estimated about 10 million of the 15 million registered voters participated in the elections for a 275-seat parliament called the Council of Representatives.

Among those who streamed to the polls were Sunni Arabs, who had stayed away in previous elections only to find they barely had a voice in government.

The high turnout was remarkable considering curfews, bulked-up security, border closings, road closures and traffic bans across the country.

The turnout was so heavy in some areas that election officials gave provincial governments discretion to keep polls open an hour past the 5 p.m. closing time.

"It's been a good day for Iraq," said Laith Kubba, a top aide to transitional Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Woo hoo!