Iraqi Kurds headed Saturday for the voting of the Kurdish regional parliamentary and presidential elections that will determine the leadership of Iraq's Kurdish region.

About 2.5 million eligible voters in the three northern provinces -- Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Duhuk -- and some other Kurds outside the region are expected to elect their 111-seat parliament and next president on Saturday.

Around 24 political entities are running in the legislative elections, while five candidates are running for the presidency of the region.

The two main Kurdish parties of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), headed by regional government president Masoud Barzani, are running the elections in a coalition.

In Arbil, the capital city of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, security measures have been tightened.

In one of the polling stations inside a luxurious hotel in central Arbil, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) president's nephew, together with his wife, cast their votes soon after the process started at 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT), before they waved their pink index fingers in front of global media with a satisfactory smile.

Together with Barzani, as many as 2.5 million ordinary citizens like Merim Sofi, 63, also cast their votes on Saturday.

"I am very happy in this historical day for Kurdish people," she said, emphasizing her strong support for the incumbent Kurdish President Masoud Barzani.

"I vote for Mr. Barzani because he helped us to have security and stability and we wish him win again in order to guarantee peace and improvement of our living standard," she added.

Despite popular expectations of real benefits from the ruling of the KDP-PUK coalition, observers believe that the coalition face challenges from new opposition alliances.

Critics of the KRG complained of widespread official corruption, abuses by security forces, media intimidation and an atmosphere that stifles dissent.

Some worried that the current KDP-PUK two-party hegemony " generally believed to remain in power" may lead the Kurds towards more problems and they hoped for a change.

"I came to elect the person whom I trust to change our life for the better. I want to see something new like no jobless people, fighting the corruption, and all the Kurdish people have their rights," said 34-year-old Said Taha.

"I hope we can see new faces in the new parliament," he said.

Some inside the mostly peaceful city of Arbil shared his views, especially at a time when the KRG and the Baghdad central government are involved in an upgraded struggle that may well jeopardize security situation in Iraq.

When asked if they wanted to secede from the Arab-dominant central government, some Arbil dwellers gave a positive answer. But, in fear of a possible military confrontation with the central government, they would rather give up such a will, saying they would never trade secession with a war.

The KRG postponed a referendum on a newly approved regional draft constitution by the regional parliament last month, which was originally planned to hold also on Saturday.

The draft constitution, which legalized Kurds' claims to the oil-rich Kirkuk as well as other disputed areas in Nineveh and Diyala provinces, was strongly criticized by officials from Baghdad as an intention of annexing disputed territories and a final secession, raising fear of a potential tension between both sides.

The incumbent president Barzani seemed to have made public for the first time his view for a changed tone of a unified Iraq.

In a somewhat news briefing on Saturday after voting, Barzani defended Kurdish insistence on steps laid out in Iraq's 2005 constitution for settling control of the oil-rich Kirkuk.

"I will never compromise on Kirkuk," he said after voting, adding that "Kirkuk is a constitution issue, and the problem should be solved through the Iraqi constitution."

He also released a message for a "unified Iraq," saying "we are brothers and we're ready to defend Basra, Ramadi, Baghdad, or Arbil, Sulaimaniyah and Duhuk, as well as other Iraqi provinces."

"We hope this election would be a good step to resolve differences with Baghdad, and enhance national unity and brotherhood between Kurds, Arabs and other ethnic groups," he added.

Saturday's vote came six months after the majority of Iraq held provincial elections and when the U.S. military is decreasing its troops in a plan to pull all soldiers out of Iraq no later than 2011.

The polling ended at 6:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT), and ballots would be sent to Baghdad for tallying afterwards. The official counting is expected to take place in the coming two or three days.

(Xinhua News Agency July 26, 2009)