Iraqis lined up to vote Saturday at a temporary election office in Ottawa's south end. (CBC)

The results of parliamentary elections in Iraq will be released within days, and more than 1,000 Iraqis living in the Ottawa-Gatineau area contributed their votes over the weekend.

Across Canada, more than 12,000 Iraqis had their say in the future of the young democracy.

Among the Ottawa-area voters was Hakim Habib, who fled Iraq in 1983. Monday, he proudly held up his ink-stained finger — proof he had participated in his homeland's election.

"We lived our life a rough life because of Saddam's regime. But now, thank God, it's different. We're getting to the better part of it," Habib said.

Across Canada, the turnout was 40 per cent higher than in the 2005 Iraqi general election.

There were more polling stations this time, which helped. But so did the opportunity to vote for individual candidates, instead of just political parties.

In Baghdad, 62 per cent of voters went to the polls, in spite of several bombing attacks.

That is an encouraging sign, according to Brad Pye, who was an election observer in Iraq in 2005.

"Having an election that's relatively violence-free, where men and women are able to get to the ballot box, speaks volumes about what kind of future the Iraqis are looking for," Pye said.

"It's a future Iraqis hope is decided by votes, not by violence."