KARABULAK, Russia - In war-shattered cities and dreary refugee camps, Chechens on Sunday voted in a constitutional referendum that Russia hopes will bring stability after nearly a decade of bloodshed.

Voters were being asked to approve a constitution that cements Chechnya's status as part of the Russian Federation and sets the stage for future presidential and parliamentary elections.

Critics argued that a new constitution alone cannot end the war and urged the Russian government to negotiate with rebel
leader Aslan Maskhadov, who has portrayed the vote as a last stand by a frustrated Russian government.

Some 540,000 people were eligible to vote, including Russian servicemen permanently stationed in Chechnya, said Chechen administration spokesman Edi Isayev.

Two polling booths also were set up in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia, where tens of thousands of Chechen refugees live, too fearful to return home because of continued fighting between separatists and Russian forces.
Election officials said turnout by late afternoon was more than 65 percent — above the 50 percent level needed for the results to be valid.

Among the voters were more than 90 percent of about 28,000 Russian soldiers who are permanently stationed in Chechnya and were eligible to vote, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, citing a deputy commander of federal forces, Col. Sergei Yakushev. Other officials have said 38,000 servicemen were eligible.

Although some troops pulled out in a well-publicized withdrawal shortly before the referendum, Russia maintains a massive military presence in Chechnya and rebels mount attacks almost daily.

Six polling stations were attacked overnight, and six Russian servicemen were killed and 12 wounded over the previous 24 hours, a Chechen administration official said on condition of anonymity.

At the refugee camp in Karabulak, in Ingushetia, Chechen music blared from loudspeakers in an attempt to create a festive atmosphere. But many of the refugees regarded the process bleakly.

"It's like feasting during the plague. Music is on ... they should have stopped the war instead," said 40-year-old refugee Marika Akhmadova, who said she would not vote.

Some who cast ballots said they did so as much to keep their spirits up as out of any belief that the referendum will help restore order.

"It's impossible to live without hope; that's why I came here. If they take away my hope, there will be noting but death for me," said refugee Roza Alkhazurova.

The Russian government and the Moscow-appointed Chechen administration have been campaigning tirelessly, portraying the constitution as a key step toward bringing life back to normal in the region. The first results were expected Monday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made a personal appeal in a broadcast shown on Chechen television. In the run-up to the vote, the government also pulled out a small contingent of troops and suggested an amnesty for some fighters might be possible.

Some Chechens said they hoped the vote would be a turning point.

"I consider today's event very important in the life of the republic," voter Lechi Magomedov, who came to a polling station neatly attired in a necktie, said on state-controlled Channel 1 television.

Still, there are many unresolved questions about what the Chechens are being offered, including how much autonomy Chechnya will be given or when elections will be held.

Putin's main spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, dismissed prospects of negotiations with Maskhadov. "We don't have any thoughts about holding talks with those who don't represent anybody or anything," Yastrzhembsky was quoted as saying Sunday by the ITAR-Tass news agency.

Russia controls most of the region, but it still loses troops daily in small-scale rebel ambushes and is constantly on guard against a larger attack.

Human rights groups questioned the legitimacy of any vote held in conditions of war. In the past week, polling stations — most housed in Chechen schools — have come under regular arson, grenade and gunfire attacks.

Balian Hrair, the leader of a fact-finding team the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent to Chechnya, said both "the organization and conduct of the referendum were not without shortcomings," the Interfax news agency reported.

Security concerns kept some key observer organizations away.

Troops and police with assault rifles guarded Grozny polling places, and Interior Ministry troops ringed the Karabulak refugee camp.

Russian troops fought an unsuccessful 1994-96 war against the rebels. Afterward, Chechnya was virtually independent and plunged into lawlessness. Troops returned in 1999 after rebels raided a neighboring Russian region and after a deadly series of apartment house bombings in Russian cities.