Vote-counting in the Iraqi constitutional referendum should finish within two days, with an initial forecast possibly available at that time, senior electoral official Farid Ayyar said.
A more complete unofficial result could be announced on Thursday, though that time frame could change too.
Once the unofficial results are out, the electoral commission will analyse any challenges to the vote, he said.
An official announcement is expected on October 24, the official added.
Challenges must be presented within three days of the referendum, to either local or national offices of the commission or by e-mail, Ayyar said late on Saturday.
On Saturday, 15,5-million Iraqis were called to the polls to vote on a landmark Constitution that would lay the framework for a post-Saddam Hussein era.
Any challenges to the vote should be presented within three days after ballots were cast and addressed to officials with the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq.
According to a preliminary estimate, more than 61% of Iraq’s potential voters cast ballots on Saturday amid tight security and mild weather.
The referendum was held in relative calm, contrasting with violence during January’s general election.
Approval of the draft Constitution will clear the way for parliamentary elections in December.
Commission head Adil Al-Lami earlier said that the vote results would be announced within three days of balloting if no challenges were presented.
Mortar rounds target Green Zone
Meanwhile, mortar rounds landed early on Sunday within the heavily protected Green Zone in Baghdad.
“At around 7.15am, two mortars hit inside the international zone,” United States embassy spokesperson Vicki Stein said.
“There were no injuries and no significant damage,” she added.
Three explosions had been heard, but the US spokesperson had no information on the third blast, which rocked the city as light traffic began to resume following a day-long ban on vehicles throughout the country on polling day.
The Green Zone houses the US and British embassies, as well as Iraqi government offices.
An Iraqi defence ministry source confirmed that two mortar explosions had been reported, and added that a US patrol had been targeted by a homemade bomb about an hour later in Dura, a restive southern neighborhood of Baghdad.
One Humvee vehicle was said to have been damaged, but the source had no details on possible casualties. — AFP