Iraq's landmark constitution seems assured of passage
Iraq’s landmark constitution seems assured of passage after initial results showed minority Sunni Arabs had fallen short in an effort to veto it at the polls.
The apparent acceptance was a major step in the attempt to establish a democratic government that could lead to the withdrawal of US troops.
Opponents failed to secure the necessary two-thirds “no” vote in any three of Iraqi’s 18 provinces, according to counts yesterday.
In the crucial central provinces with mixed ethnic and religious populations, enough Shiites and Kurds voted to stymie the Sunni bid to reject the constitution.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a decree setting December 15 for Iraqis to vote again, this time to elect a new parliament. If the constitution indeed passed, the first full-term parliament since Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003 will install a new government by December 31. If the charter has failed, the parliament will be temporary, tasked with drawing up a new draft on which to vote.
But the outcome could further divide the nation, with many Sunnis fearing the new decentralised government will deprive them of their fair share in the country’s vast oil wealth. Large numbers of Sunnis voted “no,” and some of their leaders were already rejecting the apparent result.
While a strong Sunni turnout in Saturday’s referendum suggested a desire among many to participate in Iraq’s new political system, there were fears that anger at being ruled under a constitution they oppose could push some into supporting the Sunni-led insurgency.
“If the constitution was passed, the attacks will definitely rise against the occupation forces, and the security situation is going to be worse,” said Sheik Abdul-Salam al-Kubaisi, a prominent cleric with the influential Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars, which government officials accuse of links to the insurgency.
US President George Bush congratulated Iraqis on the referendum, which across the country saw few attacks and no deaths of voters in violence.
“The vote today in Iraq is in stark contrast to the attitude, the philosophy and strategy of al-Qaida, their terrorist friends and killers,” Bush said.
The constitution is a crucial step in Iraq’s transition to democracy after two decades of dictatorship under Saddam. Washington was hoping it would pass so Iraqis can form a legitimate, representative government, tame the insurgency and enable the 150,000 US troops to begin withdrawing.
Yesterday, US military helicopters, Humvees and armoured vehicles were helping transport the last ballot boxes from polling stations to counting centres in the provincial capitals. Those centres were making initial counts, then were to truck the ballots to Baghdad for the final tallying, which was likely to begin on Monday and last into Tuesday.
