US officials hope the referendum and elections scheduled for December will help isolate Islamic extremists whose main objective is to expel US-led forces from the country they invaded in March two years ago.
Tomorrow's vote takes place three years to the day since the last referendum that returned Saddam to power with a reported 100 percent of the vote.
He and seven of his former henchmen are to go on trial Oct. 19 for the 1982 murder of 143 Shiite villagers.
Iraq's revered Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani reiterated his support for the constitution, with an aide telling AFP: "Anyone who contacts the grand ayatollah's office is told that he instructs Iraqis to vote `yes.'"
RSS