An estimated nine million Iraqis turned out Saturday for a historic vote on a new constitution aimed at establishing a democracy after decades of dictatorship under Saddam Hussein.

People fired guns in the air in celebration as polling stations closed at 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. EDT) after opening 10 hours before.

"It means freedom, democracy, all benefits for all people, not only me," said Ali Alghai, who walked five kilometres to mark his ballot, an inkstained finger showing he was successful.

Considering the carnage in recent weeks, voting day saw relatively little actual violence. Five of 1,200 polling stations in Baghdad, a city of five million, were attacked.

Nationally, about 250 of 6,100 polling stations didn't open for technical or security reasons.

At the stations, voters marked their paper ballot "yes" or "no" under one question, written in Arabic and Kurdish: "Do you agree on the permanent constitution project?"

The country's Shiites represent about 60 percent of its 27 million people, while the Kurds constitute another 20 percent.

Both groups support the approximately 140-article charter, which provides them with autonomy in the regions where they are concentrated in the north and south.

The Sunni Arab minority, which dominated the country under Saddam and is largely seen as the force behind the insurgency, widely opposes the draft.

They are convinced its federalist system will eventually tear the country apart into Shiite and Kurdish mini-states in the south and north, leaving Sunnis in an impoverished centre (almost all the oil is in either the north or south). Many of them feel the document doesn't sufficiently support Iraq's Arab character.

Turnout appeared to be high in Sunni-controlled areas.

The draft could be rejected if more than two-thirds of voters oppose it in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces -- and Sunnis have the potential to do so in four.

Those provinces are the vast Anbar in the west plus Salahuddin, Ninevah or Diyala, all north of Baghdad.

In Tikrit, Saddam's hometown located in Salahuddin province, voter turnout was estimated at 90 per cent. In Sunni areas, turnout was estimated to be more than 66 per cent, while the national average was 61 per cent.

"This constitution was written by people who are loyal to Iran rather than being loyal to Iraq," said Tikrit resident Hassan Maajoun, 60, reflecting some Sunnis' deep suspicion of Shiite ties to neighboring Iran.

One major Sunni party, the Iraqi Islamic Party, came out in support of the draft because last-minute amendments promised Sunnis the chance to try to change the charter later.

But rejection of the constitution would still be difficult because there are Shiite and Kurdish minorities in the Sunni provinces.

Shiites happy

In the heartland of Iraq's Shiites in the south, people emerged from the polling stations flashing victory signs with fingers stained with indelible, violet ink, which ensures everyone votes only once.

Shiites appeared to be respond to the call by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, their top cleric, to support the charter.

In Baghdad, President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari were shown live on Al-Iraqiya television voting in a hall in the heavily fortified Green Zone, where parliament and the U.S. Embassy are based.

"The constitution will pave the way for a national unity," said al-Jaafari. "It is a historical day, and I am optimistic that the Iraqis will say `yes.'"

The United States hopes that the constitution's success will pave the way for withdrawing American troops by taking the steam out of the Sunni-led insurgency.

However, the document is seen as flawed by some for not doing enough for womens' rights or to insure the separation of church and state.

Final results are expected in three to five days, depending on appeals or security problems that could delay paperwork from reaching Baghdad.

If Iraqis approve the constitution, a general election will be held in two months to elect a full-term parliament.

If it fails, Iraqis will go to the polls in December but only to select another interim chamber that will try again to draft a charter.

With a report from CTV's Lisa LaFlamme