Baghdad, Iraq ? The hard-line Sunni religious organization that had called on its followers to boycott Iraq’s election said Wednesday that it would “respect the choice” of voters and accept the new government, hinting at the beginnings of an accommodation with the political process.

Amid growing concerns about the ramifications of the apparently low voter turnout in Sunni areas, the Association of Muslim Scholars complained that the elections “lack legitimacy because a large segment of different sects, parties and currents boycotted.”

But in an apparent softening of their previously resolute rejection of any institution formed while American troops are still occupying Iraq, the association said it would not oppose the elected government. The hard-line clerics, who wield influence in the insurgent-infested Sunni heartland, had refused to recognize what they called the “puppet” government of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.

“We are going to respect the choice of those who voted and we will consider the new government — if all the parties participating in the political process agree on it — as a transitional government with limited powers,” the association said in a statement.

Evidence is emerging that the low turnout in some Sunni areas can be attributed at least partly to a lack of voting facilities rather than a boycott by Sunnis heeding the clerics’ call. Several Sunni politicians who competed in the election have complained that ballot papers ran out or election centers failed to open in several key areas, disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters.

Christian leaders also said paper ballots had failed to arrive in some Christian villages west of Mosul, denying an estimated 35,000 members of Iraq’s small Christian community the opportunity to vote.

The results of Sunday’s historic vote are still being tallied, and officials have not yet released the nationwide turnout. But all evidence points to a sharply lower turnout in Sunni areas than Shiite ones.