Iraqi Kurd forces vote for regional assembly

Tens of thousands of security forces in Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish region flocked today to polling centers to vote, two days ahead of the area's fourth election for local parliament since 1992.
Meanwhile, Iraq's political leaders met in a gesture of unity in Baghdad to sign an "honor pact" and pledge to work together to defuse political and sectarian tensions roiling the country over the past months.
Saturday's balloting in the northern region also known as Iraqi Kurdistan is likely to underline the Kurdish minority's insistence on self-rule and greater autonomy from the central, Arab-led government in Baghdad.
Kurds have enjoyed autonomy since 1991, when a U.S.-British no-fly zone helped protect them from Saddam Hussein's forces until his fall in 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Since then, the region has been largely peaceful compared to the rest of Iraq.

There are nearly three million eligible Iraqi Kurdish voters, said Muqdad al-Shuraifi from the Independent High Electoral Commission. More than 150,000 members of the Kurdish security forces can take part in today's special voting, which gave them a chance to cast ballots as they will be securing polling stations on Saturday.
Nearly 1,130 candidates are vying for a spot in the 111-seat parliament in the semi-autonomous region. "So far, the process is going on smoothly and we have not registered any irregularities," al-Shuraifi told The Associated Press.

The vote is not expected to upend the domination of the region's two main parties: the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by regional President Masoud Barzani.

But the ambiguity over the health condition of Talabani, who suffered a stroke last December, could help a stubborn opposition group make a strong showing in Sulaimaniyah province, one of three provinces that make up the Kurdish region.
Since December, the 79-year old Talabani has been in Germany for treatment, but few details have been released about his health and his family denies requests by political leaders to visit him, fueling speculation about the seriousness of his condition and his ability to continue with his political life.
Some Iraqi officials and Baghdad-based diplomats have said Talabani slipped into a coma shortly after the stroke happened, or was otherwise gravely incapacitated.