Photo stories: Iraqi provincial elections

An Iraqi woman holding a card that will enable her to vote. Provincial elections were held in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces on 31 January - the first polls held in the strife-torn country in four years. The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) provided technical support. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Colourful posters were part of an active electoral campaign in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. The Secretary-General's Special Representative, Staffan de Mistura, welcomed the fact that Iraqis were going “from bullets to ballots.” Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Iraqi women voters stand in line, waiting to enter a polling station. Iraqi women turned out in large numbers and many also stood as candidates in the provincial elections. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Staffan de Mistura arrives in Ramadi, Anbar province, on election day for a surprise visit to one of its polling stations. Anbar, a vast province in the west, was once the heartland of Sunni Arab resistance to the multinational forces. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Iraqis outside a polling station in Ramadi. The UN Assistance Mission in Iraq, which Staffan de Mistura heads, has provided the Independent Electoral Commission with advice and assistance on a broad range of electoral issues. The Commission noted that the elections went smoothly. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Staffan de Mistura (on right) observes a voter casting his ballot. “The United Nations was present in all 14 governorates and I myself visited polling centres in Anbar, Najaf and Baghdad,” said de Mistura. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Staffan de Mistura inspects a ballot box on his visit to a polling facility in the Shiite spiritual centre of Najaf. The UN assisted in nationwide revamping of the voter registry in order to increase accuracy and reduce the potential for multiple voting. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

An election official distributing ballots. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was pleased that UNAMI was “able to make helpful contributions to the process, including through its technical assistance,” and pledged UN support for further stages of the process. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

An Iraqi family enters a polling station in Najaf. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the people of Iraq for “strongly exercising” their right to vote in provincial elections that took place at the end of January, in an atmosphere that he called “admirably free of violence.” Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas

Staffan de Mistura with the Iraqi Security forces guarding the polling facility. Some 84,000 Iraqi observers and 420,000 party agents along with around 400 international observers were deployed in 6,471 polling centres (41,495 polling stations) to ensure transparency of the electoral process. Credit: UNAMI/Richard Bajornas