An Iraqi National Guardsman loads ballot boxes for the constitutional referendum into a truck, before transporting them to a final vote counting centre, at a polling station in central Baghdad, yesterday. - REUTERS
BAGHDAD (AP):
IRAQ'S LANDMARK constitution seemed assured of passage after initial results yesterday showed that a strong push by Sunni Arabs to veto fell short. Adoption would cross a major hurdle in the attempt to establish a democratic government and could pave the way to an eventual pullout of American troops.
But it could also divide the nation. Large numbers of Sunnis voted 'no', and some of their leaders were already rejecting the apparent result.
STRONG SUNNI TURNOUT
While a strong Sunni turnout suggested a desire among some to participate in Iraq's new political system, there were fears that anger over being ruled under a charter they oppose could push some into supporting the Sunni-led insurgency.
In a sign of the relentless danger, five American soldiers were killed on the day of Saturday's referendum by a bomb in Ramadi, a hotbed of militants west of Baghdad, the military announced. It was the deadliest attack on United States troops since a September 29 bomb blast in the same town also killed five soldiers.
U.S. President Bush congratulated Iraqis on the referendum - which in most of the country saw few attacks and no deaths of voters in violence - and said the new constitution was a victory for opponents of terrorism.
