Polling officially closed acrossIraq at 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) Sunday with a better than expected voter turnout in the landmark elections, the Independent Electoral Commission said.

Three hours before the closure of the vote, Adel al-Lami, a member of the commission, put the turnout rate at 72 percent.

However, electoral officials scaled down the figure at a news briefing shortly after the poll, saying 72 percent was compiled based on "estimates" and there were about 8 million Iraqis who might have voted, about 61 percent of eligible voters.

The turnout rate was subject to change since there were still voters waiting in line who would be allowed to cast ballots, election authorities said.

Vote count has begun at some 5,300 polling centers across the country and a final result of the elections was expected in at least 10 days.

Source: Xinhua