Democracy comes at a price as death toll mounts

POLLING officials counted votes by candlelight last night as Iraq tallied its dead after an election which divided the country.

As night fell and power supplies failed, jubilant voters in the north and south cleared from the streets in darkness.

In the capital and around the heart of the country, where at least 44 were killed in insurgent attacks, an election curfew was coming into force with families reflecting on a day of renewed bloodshed.