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Last Updated: Sunday, 30 January, 2005, 17:21 GMT
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In pictures: Iraqis vote
Iraqi election workers in Basra carry ballot boxes
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Polls have officially closed in Iraq's first multi-party elections in decades.
Election workers count votes in Suleimaniya
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Voting was extended to allow those still queuing at polling stations to cast their ballots, while in some areas counting has begun.
Iraqi voters make their way through security
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The poll took place amid an unprecedented security operation.
Boys play on the street in Baghdad
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Private vehicles have been barred from the road, and the country's borders were shut.
A queue of Iraqi voters in Suleymaniya, northern Iraq
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Iraqis voted for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly, which will be charged with drafting a constitution.
An Iraqi woman holds a ballot paper and her ID
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More than 200 political parties fielded candidates, making for very large ballot papers.
A woman voter in Baghdad shows her finger marked with ink to mark that she has voted
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Voters had their fingers marked with indelible ink to show that they took part.
Voters queue to enter a polling station in Najaf
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In many parts of the country, there was huge enthusiasm to vote.
Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi
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Among the first to vote was interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, who hopes to stay in power.
Women vote in Basra
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Turnout in many Shia areas was high, with long queues from early in the morning.
An elderly disabled man is carried to a polling station
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Correspondents reported a festival atmosphere at some polling stations.
An Iraqi soldier votes at a polling station in Ramadi
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But in Sunni strongholds, demands for an election boycott meant most polling stations were deserted.
Blood on the street marks the location of a suicide bombing in Baghdad
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And insurgents continued their attacks, with a number of deaths from suicide bombings.
Ballot boxes at a polling station in Baghdad
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Final results are expected to be announced in early February.


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STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ
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Struggle for Iraq

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