31.   After the government rejection, opposition officials said they had no choice but to boycott the vote as originally planned.

32.   Also Tuesday, opposition leader Sadiq el-Mahdi told The Associated Press in an interview that he was right in urging his followers to boycott the vote.

33.   All opposition parties boycotted the vote.

34.   And it was unclear how many Muslims may have boycotted the vote when organizational problems and general confusion prevented them from voting in areas they fled during the war.

35.   As of Thursday afternoon, the Croatian Democratic Union was vowing to boycott the vote.

36.   Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote.

37.   But Chechen rebels have vowed to boycott the vote, saying no balloting is possible until federal troops leave.

38.   But guerrillas in the oil-rich Aceh region are boycotting the vote, and Indonesia shows no signs of yielding to separatist demands.

39.   But Kashmiris who want nothing to do with India say they will boycott the vote.

40.   But the opposition boycotted the vote and withdrew its observers, saying free and fair elections were impossible.