Although there was skepticism that the democratic process would halt the tide of violence in Iraq, particularly in China, most of the official and press reaction hailed the bravery of the Iraqi people in defying threats of terror to go to the polling stations.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, paying "tribute to the courage of the Iraqi people," said the election marked "a time for reconciliation on all sides."

The question now was whether the election would lead to the political participation of all communities, including the minority Sunnis, but Annan said he was encouraged by conciliatory statements by a number of Iraqi leaders.

It was, said the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, "a great day for democracy and for freedom. It was a great day for the men and women of Iraq."

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a member of the occupying coalition, said the election would help drag other Arab countries out of the "Middle Ages."

But the China Daily, which is often used by the government to distribute its views, said the vote could "provoke a backlash, deepen sectarian divisions and even push Iraq closer to civil war."

It warned that the Sunni Muslims, many of whom boycotted the vote, could be poorly represented in the new constituent assembly.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the election was "a step in the right direction, a positive event."

Speaking for the country that led international diplomatic opposition to the invasion, French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said the election was "a first important step," but must be followed by the withdrawal of US and other foreign troops, and adoption of a constitution that upholds the rights of all Iraq's ethnic communities.

But President George W. Bush has made no mention of withdrawal. He said he fully expected that "terrorists and insurgents will continue to wage their war against democracy," but promised that the United States would continue to support the Iraqi people.

Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg, the current president of the European Union council of foreign ministers, said it was vital that minority Sunnis participate in the discussions for Iraq's future.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, had already warned that there was little hope of stability in Iraq unless the Sunnis participate in the process of drawing up a new constitution.

The main foreign powers in Iraq, the United States and Britain, drew comfort from the high rate of participation in the vote. The election was "a resounding success," Bush said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw conceded there was skepticism about the election, particularly since some people had this "terribly condescending idea as to whether Iraqis, as Arabs, were ready for democracy."

However, Straw told the BBC that the election was "extraordinary," and showed "above all that democracy is a value that flows in the veins of every citizen in the world, including those poor people in Iraq who have been denied this opportunity for such a long time."