This summary was posted at on December 14 at 11:45 PM EST.

The Telegraph reports that

  • Zarqawi has vowed to disrupt the election. A statement issued by his branch of al-Qa’eda announced “a blessed conquest to shake up the bastions of non-believers and apostates and to ruin the ‘democratic’ wedding of heresy and immorality”.

  • In Baghdad, posters were hung depicting Zarqawi dressed as a blood-red monster with the motto: “He wants to destroy elections, democracy, progress.”

  • Some militant Sunni factions, such as the Islamic Army in Iraq, has promised not to target polling stations.

The Times reports a “stunning change” between last January’s election and this one:

    This time last year the only way to report on the election campaign in the northern city of Mosul was by travelling in the relative safety of a US armoured column. Insurgents were launching dozens of attacks a day. To vote was an act of great courage. The contrast now could not be greater. Yesterday there was a party atmosphere in Baghdad. A ban on motor vehicles, to prevent the threat of car bombs, meant that normally busy thoroughfares were colonised by young men playing football. Elderly couples strolled in the warm winter sunshine. The sounds of gunfire and low-flying helicopters were replaced by birdsong and children’s laughter.

The New York Times says that Iraqi leaders predicted the vote would split almost evenly between secular and Islamist parties and usher in lengthy political maneuvering. Also,

  • Iraqi and American officials said it would take about a week to compile the preliminary results of the elections.

  • Iraqi officials are predicting a 62 percent turnout, which would be higher than the 58 percent in the January elections.

  • Iraq’s chief electoral officer said he expected Sunni voters to turn out in great numbers, except in Anbar Province, the center of the guerrilla insurgency.

The Washington Post notes that more than 1,000 Sunni clerics have issued fatwas urging their followers to vote.