Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Iraqi draft constitution passes
Well, the Iraq Constitution seems to have passed, though with a disturbing schism between different religious factions:The figures show that the tally failed to get a two-thirds "no" vote in at least three of the 18 provinces that would have been required to defeat the measure.
Sunni Arabs were highly vocal in their opposition to the constitution ahead of the October 15 vote. Shiites and Kurds have largely backed the constitution.
The western province of Anbar -- with a large Sunni population -- overwhelmingly voted against the document, with a "no" vote of 96 percent. In Salaheddin province, 82 percent rejected the charter.
If I was a Sunni Muslim, I'd be feeling pretty put out with the results, especially with the lack of involvement and consideration in the whole process, though leaders seem to be somewhat mixed on the constitution:
- "We do not tell the Iraqi people how to act, but we are against this constitution because we think it encourages the sectarian division of this country," said Isam al-Rawi of the Association of Muslim Scholars.
- ...One influential Sunni, Mahmood al-Mashhadani, stated his endorsement and said he would urge Iraqis to approve the constitution: "It's a hard fact that if we want to achieve our demands of freeing the country from occupation, we have to engage in the political process to do so," Mashahadani said in an interview. "We will call on all the voters to say yes, because there is no meaning in saying no."
Oh, And all the stories of vote tampering? Well...there's still a civil war to get back to.
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