Iraqis approve new constitution

**4me2** · 25th October 2005

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Iraqis approve new constitution

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Electoral commission officials insisted the vote was clear of fraud

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Iraq's new constitution has been approved, according to official results from the nationwide referendum held earlier this month.

Opponents of the constitution needed two-thirds of voters in three provinces to reject the document, and seriously delay the political process in Iraq.

But electoral commission officials said 44% of voters in the key province of Nineveh had endorsed the constitution.

This means only two provinces voted "No" by the required margin. 

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</TD><TD class=sibtbg>VOTE OVERVIEW
78% back charter, 21% reject
63% turnout
Majorities in 15 out of 18 provinces vote "Yes"
"No" vote majorities in two provinces - 96% reject constitution in Anbar, 81% in Salahuddin
No third province achieves required two-thirds majority to reject charter, though 55% vote "No" in Nineveh

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Electoral commission officials told a news conference that overall, 78% of voters backed the charter and 21% opposed it in the vote on 15 October.

Approval of the constitution clears the way for elections to a new Iraqi parliament in December.

Farid Ayar, an official with the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, said the vote was "100% correct".

The commission and international observers of the referendum "found no cases of fraud that could affect the results of the vote", he said.

'Victory for politics'

Laith Kubba, the spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, told the BBC that the result was a "victory for the political process".

"We knew that it was controversial, and we will proceed with this process. Hopefully there are enough mechanisms to adjust [the constitution's] shortcomings in months to come," he said.

The majority Shia community and Kurds strongly supported the constitution. As expected, many Sunni Iraqis voted against it. The Sunni "No" vote was largely based on fears that the constitution will allow the creation of Kurdish and Shia-dominated autonomous regions in the oil-rich north and south, leaving the majority of Sunnis in the poor central and western regions of Iraq.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/4374822.stm

**salvadorescobar** · 25th October 2005

'Victory for politics' - What a load of bollocks. These people have had democracy forced upon them. Give it a few years and the country will have been broken up. The oil will have been sold to the Americans by te Shia and the Kurds and the Sunni will be a poor underclass in a worse state than when Saddam was in power.

Once again I am proud to call myself British. Thanks Bliar. Thanks Bush.