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Iraq vote fails to thrill Kurds
At polling stations in this biggest of the mainly Kurdish cities of the north, there was little of the bustle and excitement that accompanied the general elections here on 30 January.
Polling started slowly, and at some of the city's voting stations, never moved beyond a trickle that dried up altogether for a while in the middle of a long, hot day in the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which is widely observed in Iraqi Kurdistan.
On a tour of voting centres, there was no sign of the enthusiastic queues and crowds that were a feature of the January elections.
With traffic banned for the day, streets were deserted apart from children playing football in the dust. At times, polling officials far outnumbered electors turning out to vote.
The Independent Iraqi Electoral Commission in Baghdad said voting figures in the Kurdish region ranged between 33% and 66% - well below the turnout in the January poll.
Self-rule
But those who did vote were enthusiastic.
"We want to show people that we are Kurds and we are voting, we are proud to show people that we also have the right to be a partner in the new Iraq," said Shahin Omar, resplendent in one of the glittering, spangly robes worn by Kurdish women on special occasions.
"Of course it's a step towards being independent, that's what we believe and that's why we're voting," she added.
"Anyone who says 'No' is not an Iraqi and not a Kurd. There's no 'No' here in Kurdistan," said another voter.
There was little doubt that the vast majority of those who did vote, recorded a "Yes" for the new Iraqi draft constitution.
That is hardly surprising. The draft envisages a loose federal system that endorses the self-rule the Kurds have been developing assiduously for the past 14 years.
They have their own parliament, their own government - in fact two of them, as the region is split between the two big Kurdish parties - and their own security forces.
The new constitution would bless all that, and also allow the Kurds a large measure of control over vital natural resources - oil, gas and water.
The freedoms given to the Kurds and other regions led some Iraqi Sunni leaders to reject the draft, saying it would lead to Iraq's dismemberment.
So the apparently apathetic show of approval from the Kurds was ironic, given that it offers them so much.
Kurdish leaders will be disappointed with the low turnout, assuming it is confirmed. They had predicted at least a 70% vote.
One possible explanation was that many did not bother to vote because they regarded the outcome as a foregone conclusion.
'Right to independence'
Practically all Kurds dream of outright independence. For some, the constitution may not have gone far enough.
Others may have stayed away because they are disgruntled with the two big parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan - which have divided the north between them.
Some ordinary Kurds blame them for poor economic conditions and autocratic practices.
In January, there was more at stake and more competition to prod the voters to turn out in the country's first post-Baathist general election.
They wanted to win the biggest possible stake in the Baghdad parliament. The poll also included regional and provincial elections, sparking lively competition between the parties.
The constitutional referendum saw little of the colourful campaigning that marked the January elections. The general level of public excitement was low.
In a BBC interview on the eve of the referendum, the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, strongly defended the draft, saying it represented the last chance of holding Iraq together.
"Let's be frank and clear," he said. "The Kurdish nation has the right to establish an independent state, just like any other nation in the world.
"But for now, it's in our interest to stay in Iraq, on condition that it's a federal, democratic, pluralistic Iraq.
"We can't accept totalitarian rule or an Iraq ruled by dictatorship or a single party. If Iraq is ruled by a constitution like this [new one], we can live in it, in brotherhood and great happiness.
"I believe that if this constitution is applied, and adhered to, that will be what holds Iraq together."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4346210.stm
On a tour of voting centres, there was no sign of the enthusiastic queues and crowds that were a feature of the January elections.
With traffic banned for the day, streets were deserted apart from children playing football in the dust. At times, polling officials far outnumbered electors turning out to vote.
The Independent Iraqi Electoral Commission in Baghdad said voting figures in the Kurdish region ranged between 33% and 66% - well below the turnout in the January poll.
Self-rule
But those who did vote were enthusiastic.
"We want to show people that we are Kurds and we are voting, we are proud to show people that we also have the right to be a partner in the new Iraq," said Shahin Omar, resplendent in one of the glittering, spangly robes worn by Kurdish women on special occasions.
"Of course it's a step towards being independent, that's what we believe and that's why we're voting," she added.
"Anyone who says 'No' is not an Iraqi and not a Kurd. There's no 'No' here in Kurdistan," said another voter.
There was little doubt that the vast majority of those who did vote, recorded a "Yes" for the new Iraqi draft constitution.
That is hardly surprising. The draft envisages a loose federal system that endorses the self-rule the Kurds have been developing assiduously for the past 14 years.
They have their own parliament, their own government - in fact two of them, as the region is split between the two big Kurdish parties - and their own security forces.
The new constitution would bless all that, and also allow the Kurds a large measure of control over vital natural resources - oil, gas and water.
The freedoms given to the Kurds and other regions led some Iraqi Sunni leaders to reject the draft, saying it would lead to Iraq's dismemberment.
So the apparently apathetic show of approval from the Kurds was ironic, given that it offers them so much.
Kurdish leaders will be disappointed with the low turnout, assuming it is confirmed. They had predicted at least a 70% vote.
One possible explanation was that many did not bother to vote because they regarded the outcome as a foregone conclusion.
'Right to independence'
Practically all Kurds dream of outright independence. For some, the constitution may not have gone far enough.
Others may have stayed away because they are disgruntled with the two big parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan - which have divided the north between them.
Some ordinary Kurds blame them for poor economic conditions and autocratic practices.
In January, there was more at stake and more competition to prod the voters to turn out in the country's first post-Baathist general election.
They wanted to win the biggest possible stake in the Baghdad parliament. The poll also included regional and provincial elections, sparking lively competition between the parties.
The constitutional referendum saw little of the colourful campaigning that marked the January elections. The general level of public excitement was low.
In a BBC interview on the eve of the referendum, the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, strongly defended the draft, saying it represented the last chance of holding Iraq together.
"Let's be frank and clear," he said. "The Kurdish nation has the right to establish an independent state, just like any other nation in the world.
"But for now, it's in our interest to stay in Iraq, on condition that it's a federal, democratic, pluralistic Iraq.
"We can't accept totalitarian rule or an Iraq ruled by dictatorship or a single party. If Iraq is ruled by a constitution like this [new one], we can live in it, in brotherhood and great happiness.
"I believe that if this constitution is applied, and adhered to, that will be what holds Iraq together."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4346210.stm
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By Rebaz Mahmood in Erbil (ICR No. 146, 17-Oct-05)
Voting centre staffers in Erbil opened their doors at 7 am. And then they waited.
Many expected a rush of enthused Kurdish voters, eagerly lining up to cast their votes in favour of a constitution that Kurdish leaders helped draft. Voters instead trickled in slowly, and in what appeared to be smaller numbers than during the January parliamentary elections.
But as in January, numerous voting irregularities were reported at polling stations in the Kurdish city.
Hemin Salih Ismael, office coordinator for the Rozh monitoring network in Erbil, said the majority of violations occurred after 3 pm, when ballot boxes were allegedly stuffed in favour of the constitution and security, police and electoral staff members are said to have urged voters to back the charter.
Karwan Mahdi Osman, leader of a monitoring team, said security personnel dressed in civilian clothing arrived at Ahmedi Khani prepatory school in the Mantkawa neighbourhood with ink-stained fingers - indicating they had already cast their ballots - and voted more than once.
At the Alaa preparatory school for girls, which served as a polling centre, an official told IWPR that voters who were not registered to vote there cast their ballots.
She said she "made a personal decision to turn a blind eye to some people [who voted without being registered] like the elderly and sick. I know this is violation but in order for their vote not be lost I allowed them to vote".
Kamal Ghambar, Erbil director of the Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq, said he would investigate allegations of voting irregularities.
Officials were unable to say how many people turned up in Erbil and refrained from giving estimated results.
Some Kurdish voters expressed concerns with the constitution ahead of the referendum arguing that the draft hurt women’s rights, delayed transferring Kirkuk back to Kurdish control and did not go far enough in facilitating Kurdish autonomy.
Still, those who went to the polls were largely expected to endorse the constitution.
Khursheed Jabbar, an Erbil resident, said, "I voted for the sake of the Kurds." Sti Taha, another local, said, "I voted so that there will be no more wars."
In Sulaimaniyah, there were media reports of a 72 per cent voter turnout, with 98 per cent backing the constitution.
In the troubled multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk, voters expressed mixed views on the charter. Kurds want to administer Kirkuk, a historically Kurdish and Turkoman city, settled by Arabs under Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Voter turnout is said to have reached 78 per cent, with 63 per cent endorsing the constitution. Omer al-Jubouri, office manager of the electoral commission in Kirkuk, said Kurdish voters turned out in higher rates than Sunni Arabs and Turkomen.
Ali Mahdi, Turkomen Front deputy chief, said Turkomen political leaders were not united and told voters to make their decisions independently.
"We, the Sunni Turkomen, voted against the constitution because it did not give us all of our rights and because it marginalises Turkomen in Iraq," said Turkan Shukur, representative of the Iraqi Turkomen Front in Kirkuk and member of the Kirkuk Provincial Council.
Mohammed Khalil, a Sunni Arab member of the provincial council, said he rejected the constitution, although he admitted that more Sunni Arabs came out to vote than in the January elections.
In Sulaimaniya "the process in general ran smoothly", said Sozan Othman, media director of the electoral commission in this Kurdish city.
"Most of the voters were elderly,” said Wahid Ismail, coordinator of one of the polling stations. “The youth were missing."
He attributed this partly to a general feeling of powerlessness among local people.
"I didn't participate in the referendum because I have no faith in political parties,” said Kawa Namiq, a 20-year-old student.
Rebaz Mahmood is an IWPR trainee journalist in Sulaimaniyah.
Saham Samad, an IWPR trainee journalist in Kirkuk, and Farman Abdulrahman, an IWPR trainee journalist in Sulaimaniyah, contributed to this report.
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/irq/irq_146_4_eng.txt