Saturday, October 15, 2005

XINHUA (China): Eight of Iraq's 18 provinces, including three Sunni Arab provinces, had a turnout of more than 66 percent in the landmark referendum on the draft constitution, an electoral official said on Saturday.

New York Times: Turnout Is Mixed as Iraqis Cast Votes on Constitution. Millions of Iraqis streamed to the polls Saturday to vote on a new constitution, joined by what appeared to be strong turnouts of Sunni voters in some parts of the country. But the Sunni turnout - high in some cities like Mosul, low in others like Ramadi - appeared to be insufficient to defeat the new charter, and Iraqi officials predicted that it would pass.