Landslide expected in Saddam poll

Iraqi women take part in a government-organized political celebration

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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqis are voting in a presidential referendum observers say is certain to give President Saddam Hussein a new seven-year term in office.

The government has urged voters to turn out in force to show massive support for Saddam in the face of U.S. threats of military action and Washington's declared desire for regime change in Iraq.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT), officials said. Nearly 12 million Iraqis are eligible answer a simple "Yes" or "No" for a new term for Saddam, who has ruled Iraq since 1979 with tight military and police control.

Voting ends at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) with official results expected Wednesday.

Analysts say the result is a foregone conclusion with the voting process tightly controlled by the authorities and with no independent observers or other candidates.

Saddam won 99.96 percent in a first referendum in 1995.

Officials say privately they want an even higher percentage this time, with some hoping for a perfect 100 percent "Yes" result.

Deadlock over U.N. resolution

Ambassadors from the United States and France huddled at the United Nations Monday, trying to resolve a deadlock over how to structure new Security Council action regarding Iraq.

The United States is pushing for a single resolution that would demand that Iraq comply with Security Council resolutions and allow unfettered access to U.N. weapons inspectors or face serious consequences, including military action.

The French prefer an approach in which a resolution would first call for Iraqi compliance, with a second resolution calling for international action only if Iraq fails to comply.

Asked about the course of U.S. diplomatic efforts, a U.S. official said, "We're making progress" -- a line that has been aired for several weeks.

One diplomat told CNN that the United States does not appear to have the nine necessary votes to get the resolution it prefers through the Security Council.

To pass, the resolution would need a majority, as well as support or abstentions from the five permanent members with veto power -- Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States.

Britain is the only permanent member publicly supporting the U.S. position.

In addition, the diplomat said that some of the non-permanent council members fear that any unilateral action by the United States in Iraq would set a bad precedent.

Some U.N. diplomats expressed hope that the process would be accelerated by a visit to Washington this week by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

U.N. officials do not appear ready to respond to two letters from Iraq last week, which gave a mixed acceptance of U.N. terms for weapons inspections. One diplomat said a response to Iraq would come in the new resolution.

-- CNN Senior U.N. Correspondent Richard Roth contributed to this report

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