Initial results released Sunday show Iraq's constitution is likely to pass, despite the high turnout of Sunni Arabs who tried to block it.

Two of Iraq's 18 provinces generated a two-thirds 'No' vote -- including heavily Sunni Anbar province, where support for the insurgency is strongest.

In central Iraq provinces like Ninevah and Diyala with mixed ethnic and religious populations, enough Shiites and Kurds voted 'yes' to block any Sunni efforts to derail the constitutional process.

Sunni leaders were angry, some of them raising allegations of fraud.

"There is no doubt that America has interfered in the process, since they and the Shiite government are supervising the whole operation, and since both want this draft to pass,'' Sheik Abdul-Salam al-Kubaisi said.

He is a cleric with the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential group that the Iraqi government thinks is linked to the insurgents.'

The U.S. played a role in mediating the constitutional process, but the Iraqi elections commission counted the ballots.

Kubaisi also had this prediction: "If the constitution was passed, the attacks will definitely rise against the occupation forces, and the security situation is going to be worse."

"We know well that either way, if it is a 'yes' or a 'no,' it is going to be a tough outcome that we need to handle," said Laith Kubba, an Iraqi government spokesperson.

In Shiite areas in the south, the constitution passed easily, but voter turnout was down substantially from January. During Iraq's first election, Shiite turnout was 80 per cent, but on Saturday, it was down to 54 to 58 per cent.

CTV's Lisa LaFlamme told Newsnet that Sunni turnout was about 68 per cent.

Results weren't available from Kurdish areas in the north, but the Kurds strongly support the charter.

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani set an election date of Dec. 15. That vote will elect a new full-term parliament.

Had the constitution been defeated, a vote would have still been held, but another interim parliament would have been picked to try to cobble together yet another constitutional package.

U.S. President George W. Bush congratulated Iraqis on the referendum, saying the new constitution was a victory for supporters of democracy -- and a defeat for the terrorists.

"The vote today in Iraq is in stark contrast to the attitude, the philosophy and strategy of al Qaeda, their terrorist friends and killers," Bush said.

Pierre Pettigrew, Canada's foreign affairs minister, also called the referendum "a milestone in Iraq's democratic development."

"The number of Iraqis who went to the polls is a testament to the spirit of the Iraqi people and their commitment to Iraq's future, despite repeated attempts by insurgents to derail Iraq's democratic transition,'' he said in a statement.

"Canada will continue to support the establishment of a peaceful and prosperous Iraq.''

The constitution is seen as a crucial step in Iraq's transition to democracy after two decades of dictatorship under Saddam Hussein.

Washington hopes it passes so Iraqis can form a legitimate, representative government, tame the insurgents and enable the 150,000 U.S. troops to begin to withdraw.

Violence returns

Voting day was relatively calm, but conflict quickly returned to the agenda on Sunday.

In Ramadi, a restive town in the so-called Sunni Triangle, five U.S. soldiers were killed by a bomb. On Sept. 29, five U.S. troops were also killed there by a bomb.

A Marine died in a bomb blast on Saturday in Saqlawiyah, the U.S. military said.

At least 1,976 members of the U.S. military have died in Iraq since the U.S. invaded in March 2003, according to the Associated Press.

The heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of Iraqi government in Baghdad, came under some isolated mortar fire. No casualties were reported.

With a report from CTV's Lisa LaFlamme