An Iraqi woman holds a pen above the ‘no' option while voting on Iraq's constitution. (AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)

Iraqi Voters Back Their Nation's New Constitution

It looks like voters in Iraq have passed a new constitution.

About 60 percent of Iraqi citizens voted on October 15 to either approve or reject the document. It apparently passed easily.

The vote is significant. A constitution is vital to any new government. It sets a nation's basic rules and laws and lays out what powers the government will have.

Adopting the document also opens the door for elections of a new assembly in December. The assembly, also called a parliament, will select a new government.

United States government leaders are watching the process closely. There are more than 150,000 United States troops in Iraq. They will not come home until there is a stable government in place and Iraq is safe. United States leaders have said that will likely take years.

Almost 2,000 United States soldiers have died in Iraq since 2003. That is when Saddam Hussein was removed from power.

There was little election-day violence.

President George W. Bush said the vote is a victory.

“The vote today is in stark contrast to the attitude, the philosophy and strategy of al-Qaida, their terrorist friends and killers,” he said.

Some are critical of the document

Some still fear the new document will continue to divide Iraq.

Sunni Arabs strongly opposed the constitution. They did so despite the country's largest Sunni political party publicly backing the document.

Sunnis live primarily in central and western Iraq. They fear the new constitution will give too much power to Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north.

Sunnis controlled the country under Hussein. However, the Shiites are the majority. Shiites and Kurds combined represent more than 3/4 of the country's population.

Leaders in Iraq's National Assembly spent months working on the document. Each ethnic group had input.

A final version will be worked out when the assembly meets in December.