AMMAN, Jordan — With a determined optimism tinged with melancholy, Iraqis in 14 countries outside Iraq voted Friday, in the first of three days of expatriate balloting that will culminate in Iraq's national election on Sunday.
Thousands of eligible Iraqi voters throughout the world took part in the first free Iraqi elections since 1954, and for the first time got a glimpse of the lists of candidates, which was kept secret throughout the campaign for security reasons.
In all, more than 280,000 of the 1 million eligible voters living outside Iraq have registered, far less than was originally expected.
While basic security in Iraq was at the forefront of many voters' minds, most felt personally safe in voting, and turnout of registered Iraqis on Friday, the Muslim sabbath, was notably high, election officials noted.
"Realistically, I don't know if I would vote if I were still in Iraq," said Musaab al-Daffaee, as he waited to vote in Damascus, Syria. "I would have to watch events carefully, and decide. Here, people feel safer."
The voting itself is a dizzying process, with more than 7,000 candidates running under 111 parties — even though about 50 parties dropped out in recent weeks. The parties are organized in coalitions that form lists of candidates, each with its own number, and with all competing for 275 seats in the national assembly.
Each list will be granted seats in proportion to the votes it receives, with candidates winning seats in the order they are listed. It is quite possible that voters will end up electing people they may never have heard of.
Many voters proudly showed off their index fingers, dipped in indelible ink to prevent repeat voting. Unlike their countrymen in Iraq, expatriates vote only for the national assembly, which will write a constitution, and not in local council elections, which will be held simultaneously in Sunday's election in Iraq.