In return, they may obtain a reduced role for the de-Baathification commission so unpopular with their constituents and perhaps some flexibility from Shiite leaders on the degree of autonomy to be sought by the oil-rich south.

ELECTRICITY - A concentration of power plants in the oil-rich south also allows it to produce a disproportionate share of the nation's spotty electrical power.

Any violent struggle between the Mahdi Army and Supreme Council could provoke anarchy throughout the entire Arab Shiite zone, including Iraq's holy cities and the oil-rich south.

One group of observers said that at one polling station in Yenagoa, in the oil-rich south, where 500 people were registered to vote, more than 2,000 votes were counted.

The Sunnis said they feared that allowing the Shiites to set up a huge autonomous area in the oil-rich south could be the first step in the dissolution of the country.

A1 One of Iraq's most powerful Shiite politicians backed demands for the formation of a semi-independent region in the oil-rich south, adding fresh turmoil to the drafting of the new constitution.

Sunni political leaders have refused to agree to the draft constitution in large part because a Shiite proposal would create a vast autonomous region in Iraq's oil-rich south.

The show of force came a week after Shi'ite militiamen killed 20 Iraqi troops in a battle that highlighted violent power struggles between rival Shi'ite factions in the oil-rich south.

Mr. Allawi's group is concerned about what its members describe as an Islamist-minded coalition of the majority Shiites that is pushing for a large autonomous region in the oil-rich south.

The Supreme Council and some other Shiite groups have pushed for the right to carve out an autonomous Shiite state in the oil-rich south, similar to Iraqi Kurdistan.