Police were enforcing a strict traffic ban Wednesday in Baghdad, where the streets were generally quiet on the eve of Iraq’s historic parliamentary election.

Borders and airports are closed and a nighttime curfew was extended as election day approached.

Voting began Monday in hospitals, prisons and military camps and Iraqi expatriates voted Tuesday at voting stations around the world.

There were scattered reports of violence.

In Fallujah, gunmen shot up four polling stations.

But the Interior Ministry is denying reports of a possible attempt to disrupt the election.

An official had said that a tanker truck loaded with thousands of blank ballots was confiscated after coming in from Iran.

Longtime Bush adviser Karen Hughes says Thursday’s legislative elections in Iraq represent a historic opportunity for Iraqis.

The undersecretary of state told the CBS "The Early Show" that Iraqis will begin writing a new chapter in their history.

President Bush delivers the fourth in a series of pre-election policy speeches Wednesday.

He describes the vote as a milestone for the Iraqi people.