BAGHDAD, October 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Thousands of Sunnis went to polling stations across Iraq Saturday, October 15, to give a firm "No" to a draft constitution they fear would lead to the country break-up.

"Of course I am voting 'No'," Mohammed Hassan told Reuters in Baghdad's Aadhamiya district.

"This document neglects the Sunnis and it just helps the Shiites. We want a united Iraq not one that is carved up into federal states."

Voters are being asked a single question: "Do You Approve the Draft Constitution of Iraq".

Early estimates showed more than 61 percent of the 15.5 million registered voters cast ballots on the charter.

Underscoring the hostility among Sunni Arabs to the document, posters outside a prominent Sunni mosque in Baghdad showed Iraq cut up by bloody knifes held by hands attached to US and Iranian flags and declared: "No to the constitution that tears the unity of Iraq."

Sunnis are basically opposed to the inclusion of federalism in the new charter because they believe it will divide Iraq and exclude them from sharing in oil wealth, as reserves are concentrated mainly in the Kurdish north and Shiite south.

They could conceivably defeat the constitution if two thirds of voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces say "No".

Sunni Arabs are a majority in Al-Anbar, Nineveh and Salahudin provinces.

An Iraqi policeman searches voters outside a polling station in the northern town of Mosul. (Reuters)

Bitter emotions in Aadhamiya left few doubts that whoever leads Iraq after December elections has a long way to go to win over the Sunnis.

"No, No, No," chanted one group of young men as they entered the polling station.

Some voters said they knew nothing about the constitution but that did not stop them from rejecting it.

"I don't know anything about it. Nobody told us. But I said 'No'. After all, it was drawn up by the Americans," said Ahmed Abu Zahra.

As they left the polling station, two young men tried to outdo one another on how they rejected the charter.

"I said 'No' and 'No'," said one. "The government asked us to say 'Yes' but I said 'No' twice," said his friend.

Although it was impossible to tell if any resistance fighters went to the Aadhamiya ballot boxes to reject the charter, teenagers around the voting station had the same stern faces as the young men who fill the ranks of the resistance, said Reuters.

"This constitution was made by the Americans and Israelis and Iran and their friends in the Iraqi government," said a teenager as his friends nodded in agreement.

A man and his wife came out smiling and saying they had voted "Yes". But they turned out to be Shiites living in Aadhamiya, a sprawling district with mostly two-storey houses.

The constitution has deepened frustrations among many Sunnis who worry that it will give Shiites and Kurds power and oil resources in regions where they dominate and leave Sunnis disadvantaged.

Many Sunnis also say the country's Shiite leaders are heavily influenced by Shiite Iran.

In the Western Baghdad city of Fallujah, still recovering from last year's American onslaught, voters lined up at polling stations that were guarded by police.

"Every Iraqi who loves Iraq must vote 'No', because a 'Yes' means backing the Americans and their agents," said Sajida Mahmood, a 40-year-old housekeeper at one thronged polling station.

Another eager voter quickly disputed her opinion.

"My wife and I voted 'Yes' because it pushes the political situation forward and will lead to political and economic progress," volunteered Riyadh Abbas, a government worker.

However, according to Reuters it seemed most in Fallujah were voting "No".

In the northern city of Mosul, Iraqis lined up outside the polling stations from the early hours of Saturday.

Many Sunnis interviewed by IslamOnline.net said they were not repeating the "mistake" of boycotting like they did in the January legislative elections.

"We boycotted the parliamentary polls for many reason, but this time around the future of Iraqi depends on our votes," Mohammad Zanoun, 43, told IOL.

He accompanied his wife to the polling station to cast her ballot as well.

"We will not repeat the boycott mistake twice," said Muwafaq Ghanem wiping out the ink from his finger.

"Our boycott brought to the helm of power people who abused their authority to suppress us."

Um Mustafa, a 45-year-old housewife, joined several women from her neighborhood to vote.

"We did not vote in the parliamentary elections because we did not realize the importance of our votes. But this time we do."

Asked how she voted, the Iraqi housewife said she gave the controversial document the thumb-down.