The Iraqi people went to the polls Sunday to vote for 275 members of a new Transitional National Assembly in the nation’s first free election in half a century.

Fourteen million voters were eligible to take part in the election in Iraq. An additional 255,600 Iraqis were eligible to cast their ballots in 14 countries, including the United States, although they had to head to the polls at odd times in accordance with Iraq’s voting hours.

Adam Shukur, freshman in engineering, is an Iraqi-American at the University who traveled to his home in Skokie to vote at a community center. Extra precautions, including guards and metal detectors, were taken to protect the voters and the officials. Shukur said voters had to empty their pockets and that everything on them was checked.

He said he believes the elections are an excellent way to get the country back on track.

“They are taking the first step necessary to elect a governing body that can pass more laws and create stability,” he said. “It aims at creating a democracy, which is an excellent goal.”

Shukur felt that the long-term results of the election would be positive.

“A lot of people didn’t think it was going to happen at all. The fact that it did is proof that we are moving in a positive direction,” he said.

Swati Acharya, freshman in engineering, said she felt the Iraqi people were not going to be happy because the election was set up and put into place by foreigners – mainly Americans.

“Iraqi citizens do not have a largely positive outlook on President Bush,” she said. “They won’t be fooled by the idea that the election is really a chance for them to make decisions.”

The election took place amid violent attacks as promised by the Iraqi insurgency. Suicide and mortar attacks led to the deaths of at least 44 people, according to the Associated Press.

Sidra Javaid, freshman in engineering, said that she felt the violence at the polling places was inevitable.

“Anti-American people can be found all over in Iraq. They will try anything they can to stop the elections from taking place,” she said.

She also criticized the President and the government for their true motives in Iraq in the first place.

“We started off by saying we were going to destroy weapons of mass destruction, but that came up empty handed,” she said. “Then we wanted to oust Saddam. Now, we are trying to implement a democracy in the country.

“The real reason we ever went to Iraq was to secure our source of oil,” she said.

But Mansi Naik, junior in engineering, said she saw the election in a positive light.

“The country is going to get better, and become more organized,” she said. “It will no doubt give the Iraqi people a better future.”

The newly elected members of the Iraqi assembly will select a new prime minister in February.