From being a "sign of national unity" to "prelude to more violence", the Arab press has widely commented Iraq's referendum. From Kuwait to Egypt, Arab newspapers have reacted in different ways to Saturday's ballot. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government schedules parliamentary elections for December 15.

Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) – An important step on the path of reconstruction or a cause for further violence and division that coalition forces have barely been able to paper over, these are the two poles in Arab press coverage of last Saturday Iraqi constitutional referendum.

Ahmed Al-Jarallah, editor-in-chief of Kuwait's English-language Arab Times, wrote that Iraqis scored a victory by voting on a new constitution despite three decades of Saddam Hussein's oppression, two years of rampant insurgent-led violence and post-US invasion interference from Iran and Syria. "Terrorists will meet their final defeat in their final battle against the people of Iraq," he wrote.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE) daily, the Khaleej Times, columnist Mohammed A. R. Galadari said Saturday's vote proved that the skeptics—particularly within the media—were wrong. In his column, he highlighted Iraqi unity and the growth of a democratic process. ""The media projected a view that a civil war was in the making there, (but) Iraqis haven't indulged in any civil war, and the referendum has taken place in a peaceful way," Galadari wrote. With "the way things went yesterday, there is hope that Iraq will have good days ahead."

But the daily English-language Egyptian Gazette was less upbeat, predicting Iraq's religious divisions would mean further chaos.

"Whether the Iraqis will approve the new constitution is anybody's guess. One certain thing is that the endorsement of the disputed charter will not end the country's bloody quandary," the Gazette editorial said.

"What strikes one's attention was the ominous sectarianism which underlined the Shiite-Sunni dispute in the run-up to yesterday's vote," it added. "This manipulation of religious sentiment is inauspicious and may well plunge Iraq into a perpetual vortex of sedition."

Another UAE newspaper, The Gulf Today, took to task the quick-fix approach of the US and British-led coalition, which the daily claimed wants to force a resolution upon Iraq's disparate Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni groups as part of an "exit strategy."

Kuwait University political science teacher Shamlan al-Issa was equally cautious, saying while he expected the constitution to be approved, he remained doubtful about any end to Iraq's violence soon.

"Are Iraqis prepared to peacefully disagree without using terrorist attacks and booby-trapped cars that kill innocent civilians in markets, mosques and elsewhere?" al-Issa wrote in his column in al-Siyassah daily.

Final results from Saturday's ballot won't be known before October 24. The constitution will be adopted if it is approved by a majority of voters; it will be rejected if at least 3 of the country's 18 provinces reject it.

In the meantime, the government is going ahead with its plan to hold parliamentary elections on December 15, whatever the outcome of the referendum may be.

A spokesman for President Talabani said that whether the Yes or No wins, elections will be held either for a standing parliament with a four-year mandate or for a new, one-year provisional assembly that will draft a new constitutional charter.

• iraq
• constitution
• referendum
• arab
• countries
• democracy