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Iraq is voting Wednesday in the first nationwide elections since the withdrawal of U.S. troops against a bloody backdrop of sectarian violence.

Hundreds of thousands of security forces deployed to guard voting centers, blocking their streets with trucks and barbed wire.

The poll comes a day after blasts in an outdoor market northeast of Baghdad killed 24 people, while a wave of attacks killed at least 46 people on Monday.

The violence has undermined the Shiite-dominated government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who could seek a third term if his coalition gains a plurality of seats in the vote.

The levels of violence reflect deep sectarian divides and have wide-ranging roots.

It is a struggle between Sunni and Shiite, it is a struggle between religious extremists and more secular figures. It is a struggle between Arab, Kurd and other minorities. It is one mans search for power Malikis versus what was supposed to be a national unity government, said Anthony H. Cordesman, an analyst and expert on Iraq at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. All of those different tensions are interacting.

As Iraqs nearly 22 million registered voters cast their ballots, take a look at what some of the issues are -- and whats at stake - for Iraq.

Wednesdays parliamentary elections Wednesday are the fourth poll since Saddam Hussein was toppled -- but the first since U.S. troops withdrew in 2011.

That milestone makes the poll a showpiece for the states democratic apparatus and a test of whether the countrys security forces can ensure the safety of voters.

While there are more than 9,000 candidates in the running for 328 parliamentary seats, al-Malikis State of Law coalition is widely expected to win the most seats.

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Iraq's 1st vote since pullout