Many Sunnis go to polls

The strong turnout raises the possibility the Sunnis could defeat the charter.
WASHINGTON POST
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's Sunni Arabs, voting en masse for the first time since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, turned out in large numbers Saturday for a nationwide constitutional referendum. Insurgents largely halted attacks, giving Iraq's capital and much of the rest of the country a rare day of peace that belied deep fractures exposed by the referendum.
Turnout reached 93 percent in the heavily Sunni western city of Fallujah after clerics and others went door-to-door telling residents it was safe enough to venture out of their homes, election officials said.
But in some other western cities, fear crushed the potential that had been suggested by heavy Sunni voter registration. In Ramadi, election day opened with automatic-weapons fire around at least one polling site. There were sporadic explosions as U.S. Marines were in the streets. Turnout there was 10 percent. "People are terrified and don't want to risk their lives," said an electoral official, Nadhum Ali.
Could mean defeat
The strong overall turnout in the west, however, raised the possibility that the disempowered Sunni minority could defeat the draft charter, which endorses a loose federal system with a weak, religiously influenced central government. Many Sunnis fear the draft would bring the breakup of Iraq into ethnic and religious substates, and make permanent their loss of power to the Shiite majority after the toppling of Saddam.
Defeating the charter would take a two-thirds "no" vote in at least three of Iraq's 18 provinces. Turnout was strong in three heavily Sunni provinces that had been expected to vote against it: Salahuddin, with 75 percent turnout reported by the local electoral director; Diyala, with 65 percent turnout; and Anbar, whose provincial total was not released Saturday.
First returns are expected today; final, unofficial results are due Thursday. A close vote would risk heightening Sunni suspicions about the political process.
U.S. views
In his weekly radio address, President Bush said Saturday that the referendum dealt "a severe blow to the terrorists" while sending a message to the world. "Iraqis will decide the future of their country through peaceful elections, not violent insurgency."
Bush said the referendum was "a critical step forward in Iraq's march toward democracy." Despite eroding public support for the war, Bush also promised to stay the course in Iraq. "America will not run, and we will not forget our responsibilities," he said.
Speaking in the Democratic radio address, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark called the vote "an important step toward a democratic Iraq." Still, he said, "let's not kid ourselves about the difficulties that lie ahead." Defeating the insurgency, winning the support of alienated Sunnis, training Iraqi forces and rebuilding the country's infrastructure and economy remain formidable tasks, he said.
What vote means for Sunnis
For some Sunnis, a vote against the constitution was in part a statement of rejection of the U.S. occupation. But for most, the vote appeared to signal their entry to Iraq's political process in hope of regaining some control over their future -- if not by defeating the charter, then by winning seats in December's parliamentary elections and working to amend it.
"If these people get power, we will never see stability in Iraq again," said Khalaf Ahmed Khalif, 53, a farmer in Ishaqi, an area of lush farmland amid arid desert in Salahuddin province. "If you think it's bad, just think about double the number of forces the Americans have in the country right now."
In Ishaqi, 300 people voted in January's elections for a transitional government. By late Saturday afternoon, 9,350 had turned out.
The turnout was also high in several larger cities across the mostly Sunni province, including places where the U.S. military has waged a nearly continuous battle against insurgents. Samarra, which reported 35,636 voters by midafternoon, had run out of ballots and was requesting more from U.S. commanders.
Tired of violence
Not all Sunnis voted no. In Baghdad, some said they voted for the charter because of security concerns, hoping that the next step would be rule of law.
"I insisted on voting, even though my neighbors told me it would be dangerous," Haifa Ahmed Satoor, 38, a government worker and a Sunni, said in Baghdad before voting yes.
"I don't want more people killed in the name of Sunni resistance," Satoor said. "We already lost neighbors -- I don't want to lose relatives."
In Sadr City, a vast Shiite area in northeast Baghdad, Mayyada Ahmed already had. She came to a polling center to vote for the draft on the final day of mourning for a cousin shot by Americans at a checkpoint, a few weeks after three other male relatives were abducted from their home and later found dead in heaps of garbage.
"We came because we hope the future will be better," Ahmed said, reflexively waving her ink-stained finger in a now-worn symbol of hope from the last election. "We are hoping it will provide safety. We will keep voting until it does."