Vote Count to Take Several Days After Millions of Iraqis Turn Out for Elections

Voting tallying is underway after millions of Iraqis participated Sunday in the country's highly anticipated elections despite scattered bombings and the threat of more violence from insurgents, the Washington Post reports. The turnout was modest, but included droves of Sunnis, who boycotted the last general election in 2005.

U.S. officials hailed the election as a success, though it will likely be followed by a period of intense wrangling over political positions and alliances. President Obama said the population's determination to vote "demonstrates that the Iraqi people have chosen to shape their future through the political process," and Defense Secretary Robert Gibbs called the election "a good day for the Iraqis and all of us."

Election Day saw a smattering of violence across Iraq. At least 38 people were killed and 89 wounded, mostly in an attack in Baghdad that collapsed two residential buildings. U.S. officials were skeptical of the high number of violent incidents reported by the Iraqi police, who said they investigated over 20 bombings.