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Voting is under way for a new president and parliament in the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, with the governing coalition facing a vigorous challenge.

A BBC correspondent says turnout is expected to be high, with queues of people outside polling stations before they had opened.

Incumbent President Masood Barzani and the ruling parliamentary coalition are both expected to win re-election.

But the two main parties, the KDP and PUK, are fighting off reformists.

The outcome is being watched closely in Baghdad, in the light of long-running tensions with the Kurds over land, oil, and power.

Some 20,000 troops have been stationed at polling stations, with 2.5 million people are registered to vote.
source: bbc.com