Soldiers, police, prisoners and displaced people cast early ballots on Wednesday in provincial polls that will define Iraq's political landscape as U.S. forces withdraw and Iraqi forces seek to defend a fragile calm, according to Reuters. Polls open to the general public on Saturday in the first Iraqi election since 2005. Since then, the country has been plunged deeper into, and slowly climbed out of, sectarian war. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who claims credit countrywide for better security but has little clout in the provinces, is aiming to win a share of regional power from larger rival Shi'ite parties. He faces a national vote later this year. Elsewhere, Sunni Arabs who boycotted the last provincial polls are seeking a bigger share of local power, Reuters said.
