ISHAKI, Iraq, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Some Sunnis in the town of Ishaki were convinced Saturday the Iraqi government had rigged the constitutional referendum in favor of Kurds, Shiites and Iran.
Dozens of locals, all planning to vote against the draft constitution, had been turned away from the single polling station in town, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
According to election officials all those rejected were registered at another polling station 3 miles away -- but a driving ban designed to stop suicide bomb attacks prevented the Sunnis from making the trip, effectively disenfranchising them.
Coordinators for the Independent Electoral Commission for Iraq insisted it was a genuine mistake and rushed to remove the voting restriction. But for Sunnis the damage had been done.
Turnout was high in Balad, the main Shiite city in the province.
Sabeh Abad, a Shiite resident of Balad, said he had voted "yes" because the constitution would usher in a new era of peace.
But with the Sunni population apparently convinced the constitution would be passed, by fair means or foul, many predicted worsening violence ahead, the newspaper said.
