People in Iraq have been voting in a referendum to confirm the extension of the presidential term of Saddam Hussein by another seven years. The nearly 2,000 polling stations have now closed.
The incumbent has already been re-nominated by the Revolutionary Command Council, and was therefore returned as President under the Interim Constitution, as happened in 1995.
The authorities have been urging voters to return a 100% Yes vote to rubber-stamp that decision, as a show of support for the Iraqi leader in the face of threats from the United States to remove him from power.
