Iraqi authorities began to count millions of votes on Friday after largely smooth parliamentary elections on Thursday.

More than two-thirds of some 16 million eligible Iraqi voters cast their ballots, according to estimates given by the electoral committee.

"The number of voters who took part in the elections should be between 10 and 11 million voters, according to our first estimates," said a senior electoral official.

The restive western province of Anbar also enjoyed a high turnout.

In Fallujah, where used to be the heartland of insurgency, the turnout was around 85-95 percent, according to estimates given by electoral official there.

The turnout for the restive western city Ramadi was between 75 and 80 percent, the electoral committee said.

Altogether 7,655 candidates on behalf of 19 coalitions and 307 political entities contested for 275 seats in the first full-term National Assembly since the US-led multi-national toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Final results will not be known in at least two weeks.

Source: Xinhua