The US ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad said that if the constitution is adopted, if the December elections proceed smoothly and if enough Iraq security forces can be trained, the US military presence could begin to decrease next year. "Of course it will depend on the circumstances, but it can happen as early as early to mid next year," he said. Polls opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) and 5,617 stations were operating of a total 6,235, staffed by 200,000 trained workers, Lami said. The polls were scheduled to close at 5:00 pm (1400 GMT). The Iraqi electoral commission said 52,000 official observers would oversee the vote, and since political parties were also authorized to attend, the total number could reach up to 116,000.--SPA1505 Local Time 1205 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/296456