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Iraq Charter Ratified, Sunnis Cry Foul
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Chief of the Electoral Commission Fareed Iyar (L) announcing the final results.
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BAGHDAD,
October 25, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqis have
ratified their new constitution, the results of a referendum showed on
Tuesday, October 25, amidst cries of vote rigging.
Electoral
Commission officials told a news conference 78 percent of voters
backed the charter and 21 percent opposed it, Reuters reported.
Of
18 provinces, only two recorded "No" votes greater than two
thirds, one province short of a veto.
Referendum
rules stipulate that the draft fails if rejected by a two-thirds
majority in any three of the 18 provinces and elections to a new
parliament must be held.
Although
a big "Yes" vote was expected across the country, given
support for the charter from the Shiites and their Kurdish allies in
government, the outcome was in doubt to the last because of the risk
of a regional blocking vote in provinces with big Sunni Arab
populations.
Two
provinces had already been confirmed to have voted heavily
"No" -- 96 percent in Al-Anbar and 81 percent in Salahaddin.
But
the final results announced on Tuesday showed that a third,
"swing", province of Nineveh, had voted by only 55 percent
against the constitution, short of a two-thirds majority.
No
other province returned a "No" majority.
Turnout
in the October 15 referendum was 63 percent, commission officials had
said previously.
A
parliamentary election scheduled for December 15 will now elect a
parliament with full constitutional powers for four years.
Had
the charter been blocked, parliament would have had only interim
powers for a year while it drew up another draft constitution.
Click
to read the final results in full.
Rigged
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“We
cast our votes though we knew for sure that the results would be rigged
and now our complaints would fall on deaf ears,” said Mutlaq.
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Saleh
Al-Mutlaq, the leader of the Sunni umbrella body Iraqi National
Dialogue Council, cried foul.
“The
results have been rigged in Mosul, Nineveh, Diyala and most of the
southern provinces,” charged Mutlaq in statements to Al-Jazeera
television.
He
said vote counting is illegal because it has taken place in Baghdad
and not in each of the 18 provinces.
“We
call for a fresh referendum under the supervision of the United
Nations and Iraqi judiciary,” he said in a fiery mood. “Only then
we will recognize the results.”
Mutlaq
further said the Iraqi people are “disappointed” at the lack of
transparency.
“We
cast our votes though we knew for sure that the results would be
rigged and now our complaints would fall on deaf ears.”
Iraq
delayed the announcement of the October 15 vote results after the
Electoral Commission said it was rechecking ballots amidst charges of
vote rigging.
Dignitaries
and tribal chieftains in Nineveh have warned of massive fraud in vote
counting, calling for an international inquiry.
Sunnis
are opposed to the charter, basically to the inclusion of a federalism
article because they believe it will divide Iraq and exclude them from
sharing in oil wealth, as reserves are concentrated mainly in the
north and south.
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