Iraqi Kurds flock to polls amid tensions with Baghdad

Iraq's Kurds flocked to cast votes yesterday in presidential and legislative polls expected to confirm the grip on power of regional leaders locked in dispute with Baghdad over land and oil.

Queues formed at many polling stations across Iraqi Kurdistan even before polls opened at 6 a.m. and they lengthened during the day as the entrance into the fray of a new opposition party added interest to the contest.

The regional president is being chosen by popular vote for the first time but incumbent Massud Barzani is tipped to retain the post, while his Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are expected to sweep the parliamentary poll.

However, an enthusiastic cross-section of voters appear to be backing Nusherwan Mustafa, a wealthy entrepreneur and former PUK deputy leader who is bidding to break the PUK-KDP duopoly, as are a raft of small parties.

Kurds are increasingly concerned about corruption, with many voicing support for change after decades of PUK and KDP dominance.

"This is the first time in my life I feel that I'm actually participating in elections that offer choice and real competition," said Zeez Ahmad Hassan, a 44-year-old engineer in Sulaimaniyah, the region's second city after Arbil. Hassan said that the dominance of the PUK and the KDP "did not give voters any choice", adding that he would be voting for a smaller party because "Kurdistan badly needs change and renewal".

But Shilan Othman, 36, told AFP that she would be voting for the joint PUK-KDP list, saying its "victory is as clear as the light of the sun in a blue sky".

Security was tight at polling stations across Kurdistan, despite the relative safety of the region compared to the rest of Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki described the votes as "another step in building a democratic Iraq", and added that the elections "provide an opportunity to resolve all problems".

Talabani, former deputy prime minister Barham Saleh and opposition party leader Mustafa - head of the Change party - cast their votes in Sulaimaniyah, while Barzani voted at a summer resort north of regional capital Arbil. Kurdistan currently comprises the three provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Dohuk.

"We hope that these elections will be a first step to solving issues with Baghdad," Barzani told reporters after voting.

"I will work to get back the disputed areas."

In the run-up to the vote, tensions heightened between Barzani and the central government over Kurdish claims to 16 disputed areas along Kurdistan's border with the rest of Iraq.

Barzani insisted during campaigning he will not "compromise" on the Kurds' long-standing claims to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Kurdish peshmerga rebels who had fought the regime of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein are now deployed alongside Iraqi army soldiers, triggering a tense face-off that has raised the prospect of armed conflict.