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Iraq poll panel: Charter approved
Iraq's first post-Saddam Hussein constitution has been approved, the independent electoral commission said, announcing the final results of this month's landmark referendum.
The new charter passed by a simple majority after opponents failed to muster the two-thirds majority in three of Iraq's 18 provinces necessary to block ratification, commission spokesman Farid Ayyar said.
The outcome of the 15 October referendum finally hinged on the results of the mainly Sunni northern province of Nineveh which was among the last provinces to declare its results.
Two other Sunni majority provinces had already voted against the charter by the necessary two-thirds majority but Nineveh voters only rejected the text by 55% to 45%, insufficient to block its adoption.
Judicial supervision
Spokesman of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council (INDC), Salih al-Mutlaq, called for repeating the referendum in some governorates under international and Iraqi judicial supervision.
Speaking to Aljazeera on Tuesday, al-Mutlaq said that results of the referendum had been forged in some governorates.
"We believe that the results have been forged in Mosul, Diyala and most southern Iraqi governorates," he said.
"We call for repeating the referendum in Diwaniya, Samawa, Mosul and Diyala governorates under UN and Iraqi judicial supervision."
Al-Mutlaq added: "We will recognise the constitution in this case only; otherwise, this constitution then represents an extreme failure in Iraq and we do not recognise it."
Sunni Arabs, who dominated Saddam Hussein's and all previous Iraqi governments, generally opposed the new constitution, fearing its federal nature would leave the country's vast oil resources in the hands of Kurds and Shia.
More changes
Approval of the constitution paves the way for legislative elections in December, although lawmakers are to convene a body to consider further changes to the basic law under an accord hammered out before the referendum.
About 15.5 million Iraqi voters were asked whether or not they approved the new charter that places considerable power in the hands of regional authorities, and enshrines Kurdish autonomy in the north.
The Shia are expected to form a similar autonomous region in central and southern Iraq.
The charter adoption is considered important in any decision about the future withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq.
Nationwide, 78% of voters said "yes" to the charter, above the simple majority required. Voter turnout was 63% of eligible voters.
Election results showing Iraqis have ratified a new US-backed constitution by a large margin are accurate and should be trusted, a senior UN official said on Tuesday.
Speaking after Iraq's Electoral Commission released final results showing 79% approval for the constitution in the 15 October referendum, Carina Perelli said the balloting process adhered to the highest standard.
"Yes, it has been audited, controlled. It has been done really in a very professional way," Perelli, head of the UN team providing technical assistance to the Iraqi government, said.
"The result is accurate. It has been checked according to the processes that we all follow when we have elections."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6D18884D-32FE-4933-95B3-7D4BB5DA2178.htm
Provinces Yes (%) No(%)
Al-Anbar (capital Ramadi)
03.04 96.96
Arbil (Arbil) 99.36 00.64
Babil (Hilla) 94.56 05.44
Baghdad (Baghdad) 77.70 22.30
Basra (Basra) 96.02 03.98
Dhi Qar (Nasiriyah) 97.15 02.85
Diyala (Baquba) 51.27 48.73
Dohuk (Dohuk) 99.13 00.87
Karbala (Karbala) 96.58 03.42
Misan (Amara) 97.79 02.21
Muthanna(Samawa) 98.65 01.35
Najaf (Najaf) 95.82 04.18
Nineveh (Mosul) 44.92 55.08
Qadisya (Diwaniya) 96.74 03.26
Salah al-din (Tikrit) 18.25 81.75
Al-Sulaimaniya (al-Sulaimaniya) 98.96 01.04
Tamim (Kirkuk) 62.91 37.09
Wasit (Kut) 95.70 04.30
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6D18884D-32FE-4933-95B3-7D4BB5DA2178.htm
The outcome of the 15 October referendum finally hinged on the results of the mainly Sunni northern province of Nineveh which was among the last provinces to declare its results.
Two other Sunni majority provinces had already voted against the charter by the necessary two-thirds majority but Nineveh voters only rejected the text by 55% to 45%, insufficient to block its adoption.
Judicial supervision
Spokesman of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council (INDC), Salih al-Mutlaq, called for repeating the referendum in some governorates under international and Iraqi judicial supervision.
Speaking to Aljazeera on Tuesday, al-Mutlaq said that results of the referendum had been forged in some governorates.
"We believe that the results have been forged in Mosul, Diyala and most southern Iraqi governorates," he said.
"We call for repeating the referendum in Diwaniya, Samawa, Mosul and Diyala governorates under UN and Iraqi judicial supervision."
Al-Mutlaq added: "We will recognise the constitution in this case only; otherwise, this constitution then represents an extreme failure in Iraq and we do not recognise it."
Sunni Arabs, who dominated Saddam Hussein's and all previous Iraqi governments, generally opposed the new constitution, fearing its federal nature would leave the country's vast oil resources in the hands of Kurds and Shia.
More changes
Approval of the constitution paves the way for legislative elections in December, although lawmakers are to convene a body to consider further changes to the basic law under an accord hammered out before the referendum.
About 15.5 million Iraqi voters were asked whether or not they approved the new charter that places considerable power in the hands of regional authorities, and enshrines Kurdish autonomy in the north.
The Shia are expected to form a similar autonomous region in central and southern Iraq.
The charter adoption is considered important in any decision about the future withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq.
Nationwide, 78% of voters said "yes" to the charter, above the simple majority required. Voter turnout was 63% of eligible voters.
Election results showing Iraqis have ratified a new US-backed constitution by a large margin are accurate and should be trusted, a senior UN official said on Tuesday.
Speaking after Iraq's Electoral Commission released final results showing 79% approval for the constitution in the 15 October referendum, Carina Perelli said the balloting process adhered to the highest standard.
"Yes, it has been audited, controlled. It has been done really in a very professional way," Perelli, head of the UN team providing technical assistance to the Iraqi government, said.
"The result is accurate. It has been checked according to the processes that we all follow when we have elections."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6D18884D-32FE-4933-95B3-7D4BB5DA2178.htm
Provinces Yes (%) No(%)
Al-Anbar (capital Ramadi)
03.04 96.96
Arbil (Arbil) 99.36 00.64
Babil (Hilla) 94.56 05.44
Baghdad (Baghdad) 77.70 22.30
Basra (Basra) 96.02 03.98
Dhi Qar (Nasiriyah) 97.15 02.85
Diyala (Baquba) 51.27 48.73
Dohuk (Dohuk) 99.13 00.87
Karbala (Karbala) 96.58 03.42
Misan (Amara) 97.79 02.21
Muthanna(Samawa) 98.65 01.35
Najaf (Najaf) 95.82 04.18
Nineveh (Mosul) 44.92 55.08
Qadisya (Diwaniya) 96.74 03.26
Salah al-din (Tikrit) 18.25 81.75
Al-Sulaimaniya (al-Sulaimaniya) 98.96 01.04
Tamim (Kirkuk) 62.91 37.09
Wasit (Kut) 95.70 04.30
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/6D18884D-32FE-4933-95B3-7D4BB5DA2178.htm
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"No" campaigners had hoped to block it by mustering two-thirds of the vote in at least three provinces, seriously delaying the political process in Iraq.
But they won in only two with the swing province of Nineveh returning 44% "Yes" votes, the official count shows.
A bomb killed nine people in a Kurdish city as the result was being reported.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4374822.stm
``The people were shocked to find out that their vote is worthless because of the major fraud that takes place in Iraq,'' he said on Al-Arabiya TV.
Nationwide, 78.59 percent voted for the charter while 21.41 percent voted against, the commission said. The charter required a simple majority nationwide with the provision that if two-thirds of the voters in any three provinces rejected it, the constitution would be defeated.
Two mostly Sunni Arab provinces - Salahuddin and Anbar - had voted against the constitution by at least a two-thirds vote. The commission, which had been auditing the referendum results for 10 days, said a third province where many Sunnis live - Ninevah - produced a ``no'' vote of only 55 percent.
Ninevah had been a focus of fraud allegations since preliminary results showed a large majority of voters had approved the constitution, despite a large Sunni Arab population there.
Election commission officials and U.N. officials, who also took part in the audit, ``found no cases of fraud that could affect the results of the vote,'' Ayar said.
The constitution, which many Kurds and majority Shiites strongly support, is considered another major step in the country's democratic transformation, clearing the way for the election of a new Iraqi parliament on Dec. 15. Such steps are considered important in any decision about the future withdrawal of U.S.-led forces from Iraq.
Many Sunni Arabs fear that the constitution will create two virtually autonomous and oil-rich mini-states of Kurds in the north and Sunnis in the south, while leaving many Sunnis isolated in poor central and western regions with a weak central government in Baghdad.
Some fear that the Sunni Arab loss in the referendum could influence more of them to join or support Sunni-led insurgents who are launching attacks across the country against Iraq's mostly Shiite and Kurdish government and U.S.-led forces.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5368617,00.html