Iraqi Kurds voted on Saturday in elections expected to keep President Masoud Barzani in power in Kurdistan, Reuters reported. Polls opened at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) in the largely autonomous northern region, and will close at 6 p.m. (1500 GMT), after which ballots will be flown to Baghdad for tallying. The official count is expected to take 2-3 days with no challenges. The people of the relatively peaceful enclave will elect a president directly this time, unlike 2005 polls that selected a parliament alone, and Barzani looks certain to defeat his five competitors. Barzani's Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Democratic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the region's most powerful parties, will run for seats on a joint list against 23 alliances of smaller parties.
