Iraq's neighbours voice concern

US President George W. Bush praised the 8.5 million Iraqis who "defied terrorists and went to the polls," and said his country and its allies, which invaded the country in 2003, "can all take pride in our role in making that great day possible."

Washington's main coalition ally Britain, via Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, said that the "Iraqi people have taken another important step on the way to a secure and democratic future."

However countries more directly affected by the region's politics took a more measured view, with Turkey being openly critical.

"The low turnout of some groups in the elections, the fact that almost no votes were cast in a number of provinces and the fact that manipulations in certain regions, including Kirkuk, led to unbalanced results are issues that need to be considered seriously," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkey was particularly irked by the strong gains made by the two main Kurdish parties in the north of the country, which came in second in the elections after the main Shia alliance, with 25.7 percent of the vote.

Iraq's western neighbor Jordan said it hoped that "all parties" would be able to join the future political process, in a clear call to Arab Iraqi Sunnis, who largely boycotted the elections.

The next step "must take into consideration all parties and their representation", Jordan's government spokeswoman Asma Khodr said.

And in neighbouring Kuwait, which was invaded by the army of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 1990 and provided facilities for the US-led invasion two years ago, the government expressed hope that the country would remain united.