Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki voices certainty of victory on Wednesday in the parliamentary elections taking place in the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki voices certainty of victory on Wednesday in the parliamentary elections taking place in the country.

Maliki encouraged voters to turn out in large numbers, and voiced confidence that he would return to power after casting his ballot at a VIP voting centre set up in the Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad's heavily-fortified Green Zone.

"Today is a big success, and even better than the last elections, even though there is no foreign soldier on Iraqi soil," the premier said.

He called for a move away from national unity governments to ones of political majority, and confidently told journalists, "Our victory is certain, but we are waiting to see the size of our victory."

Other Iraqi leaders including Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr, Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim and Ibrahim al-Jaafari underscored the importance of the elections, pointing out that the following political stage will concentrate on forming a powerful and harmonious government to serve the Iraqis.