chomerics Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Two Sunni-dominated provinces in Iraq have rejected the country's draft constitution, according to partial results given by election officials.Electoral rules mean the document will fail if three out of the 18 provinces vote "No" by two-thirds or more. Salahuddin and Anbar both heavily voted against but Diyala, also Sunni, has backed the charter. Now all eyes are on the largely Sunni province of Nineveh where the result is due to be announced within two days. Map of Iraq's provinces The BBC's Jim Muir reports from Baghdad that the referendum has turned into something of a cliff-hanger. If the constitution were to fail, it would set the political process back by roughly a year. New elections will be held in December and the resulting parliament would again undertake the task of producing another constitution, our correspondent says. Conflicting reports In Anbar, 97% of voters cast "No" ballots while it was 82% against in Salahuddin, electoral commission chief Abdel Hussein al-Hindawi told reporters, quoting preliminary figures. CONSTITUTION'S KEY POINTS Iraq to be federal, parliamentary democracy Official languages to be Arabic and Kurdish Official religion to be Islam but religious freedoms guaranteed Equal rights for all Independent judiciary Elections every four years Q&A: Iraq referendum In Diyala, the constitution was approved by more than 50% of voters. Mr Hindawi added that the commission had so far received 135 minor complaints over violations which did not affect the results. Nineveh has a religiously and ethnically mixed population, dominated by Sunni Muslims. In the immediate aftermath of the referendum, election officials in the provincial capital, Mosul, were quoted by an international news agency as saying the "Yes" vote had won by a huge majority. Most impartial observers were perplexed and perturbed, the BBC's Richard Galpin reports, as the word on the street seemed to be that the majority had in fact voted "No". But it was not clear, our correspondent adds, if the "No" voters had mustered two-thirds. Nineveh is one of the provinces under investigation by election officials. They are looking at voting procedures, the ballot boxes and the ballot papers to ensure there were no mistakes or fraud. Hopefully this thing passes. From this article, it looks like this will go down to the wire. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4372094.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Sorry, I am no fan of this Too many little details and taking too much away from Sunnis It needs to be re-done. Those silly Shiite's have been making life difficult for us forever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 Sorry, I am no fan of thisToo many little details and taking too much away from Sunnis It needs to be re-done. Those silly Shiite's have been making life difficult for us forever! Yea, I know you're not a fan of the constitution, but I was hoping this thing would actually pass. I'm not to sure now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 Yea, I know you're not a fan of the constitution, but I was hoping this thing would actually pass. I'm not to sure now. I really think its better to get it right no matter how long it takes. It took us about a decade and some change to get something right. I can't believe we lived under the AOC for so long :doh: If they have to re-do it and it takes another year, but its done right, we'll all be much better off in the long run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 I really think its better to get it right no matter how long it takes.It took us about a decade and some change to get something right. I can't believe we lived under the AOC for so long :doh: If they have to re-do it and it takes another year, but its done right, we'll all be much better off in the long run The problem is that civil war could break out in a years time. Iraq isn't like the US because people didn't hate each other in terms of geographical and religous areas. A civil war is a real probability if this doesn't get done, that is the way it is looking right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 The problem is that civil war could break out in a years time. Iraq isn't like the US because people didn't hate each other in terms of geographical and religous areas. A civil war is a real probability if this doesn't get done, that is the way it is looking right now. You don't think back in the 1780s there were geogrpahical differences? And I mean intense differences Oh they existed, and like I said I am quite often shocked the nation didn't fall apart. Shay's rebellion I believe opened up a lot of eyes If they have a half ass constituion now, it'll lead to problems down the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamingwolf Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 SHF well said, get it hammered out right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted October 25, 2005 Author Share Posted October 25, 2005 You don't think back in the 1780s there were geogrpahical differences? And I mean intense differencesOh they existed, and like I said I am quite often shocked the nation didn't fall apart. Shay's rebellion I believe opened up a lot of eyes If they have a half ass constituion now, it'll lead to problems down the road I don't think the problems we faced as an emerging country were anywhere NEAR what is going on in Iraq. Do you really want to get into it, or are you just trying to get under my skin? Curious because I don't think it is even remotely close to the US circa 1780. As for the constituion getting signed, do you honestly think something successul may come out of the constitution not being ratified? I understand that you want to get it right, but what does it matter HOW good it is? Wouldn't something be better then nothing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I don't think the problems we faced as an emerging country were anywhere NEAR what is going on in Iraq. Do you really want to get into it, or are you just trying to get under my skin? Curious because I don't think it is even remotely close to the US circa 1780.As for the constituion getting signed, do you honestly think something successul may come out of the constitution not being ratified? I understand that you want to get it right, but what does it matter HOW good it is? Wouldn't something be better then nothing? I am definitley NOT trying to get under your skin. You know when I am But from what I studied about that time period, it was a very precarious time and in my opinion can be used as a comparitive example to Iraq now. You already had North-South issues at that point and of course the issues of taxes, currency, and a weak central government and basically no organized national military, and not to mention external pressures with the British and French still having a military presence in North America Anytime I read about our nation between the Revolution and the Constitution I am amazed we survived, which is why I think the Iraqis need to re-do this Consitution so there isn't any problem down the line. Look what happened to us and 4 score and 7 years later we were in the midst of our nation fighting brother against brother It certainly wasn't as clean as Sunni v Shiite v Kurd, but North v South, slave holders v abolitionists, and eventually federalist v anti federalist And do I think something good will come out from this not being ratified? Yeah I honestly do, and I could be very very wrong They need to get back there and make a Constitution not a Bible and do it in such a way that they get a broader consensus. How oil revenue should be split should not be an article of the constitution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I think I agree with both of you. What I'd like to see is a serious belief on the part of all involved that this really is a temporary consitution. The articles of confederation were the best we could do for a LONG time. It took a while to see the benefits of a stronger federal government. I think getting a constitution at all is a serious first step, but we all need to realize that this incarnation cannot last. It's too biased and has american's pawprints all over it. Unitl they legitimately rule for themselves and determine for themselves the rules under which they want to live we cannot have lasting peace. They need a little bit of experience with democracy to build thier trust in the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsHokieFan Posted October 25, 2005 Share Posted October 25, 2005 I think I agree with both of you.What I'd like to see is a serious belief on the part of all involved that this really is a temporary consitution. The articles of confederation were the best we could do for a LONG time. It took a while to see the benefits of a stronger federal government. I think getting a constitution at all is a serious first step, but we all need to realize that this incarnation cannot last. It's too biased and has american's pawprints all over it. Unitl they legitimately rule for themselves and determine for themselves the rules under which they want to live we cannot have lasting peace. They need a little bit of experience with democracy to build thier trust in the system. Never thought about it this way It could be a good temporary approach I'll say that I personally DO NOT like this though and hope that another assembly could be convened within a decade if this does pass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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