An Iraqi displaced by sectarian violence dips his finger in ink after voting in the country’s provincial elections in Sulaimaniyah, 260 kilometers (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. More than 63,000 internally displaced people have registered to vote by absentee ballot for ruling councils. Iraqis passed through security checkpoints and police cordons to vote Saturday in provincial elections that are considered a crucial test of the nation’s stability as U.S. officials consider the pace of troop withdrawals. (AP Photo/Yahya Ahmed)