Iraqi lawmakers change idea on referendum
Baghdad (AsiaNews) The Iraqi parliament has reversed its October 2 decision to change the rules governing next week' constitutional referendum after strong pressures from the United Nations and the United states, both of which said the changes envisaged were unacceptable and a would not meet international standards
Under the altered rules a simple majority of actual votes would have been sufficient to approve the constitution, whilst a two third majority of registered voters in at least 3 of Iraq's 18 provinces would have been required.
This morning Iraq's National Assembly decided to revert to the original rules by modifying Art. 61 (C) on electoral rules thus reinstating the principle that a majority of actual votes will suffice.
In addition to the UN and the US, Iraq's Sunni minority opposed the changes to the election law.
Sunnis, who largely oppose the constitution claiming that its federalist principles grant too much power to Kurds and Shiites, are a minority in the country and the government but are a majority in three provinces.
Many observers believe that voters in Sunni areas will not be able to vote because of insurgents' violent attacks. In places like Anbar, a Sunni province West of Baghdad, elections are in jeopardymany of its towns and cities are currently in the hands of insurgents.
Yesterday Saleh al-Mutlaq, a spokesman for the Sunni group Iraqi National Dialogue, called the changes to the voting law a "clear forgery" and described Shiite and Kurdish leaders as "enemies of democracy".
In a internet message, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's top henchman in Iraq, told Sunnis not to vote, saying that even casting a 'No' vote would legitimise the 'infidels'.
A Sunni boycott of the October 15 referendum is a real threat to the constitution's legitimacy and could bring new recruits to the terrorists fighting in Iraq.
Controversy or not, preparations for the referendum are almost over. Some 14 million registered Iraqi voters are called to choose. With the help of the UN, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq has distributed 20 million ballots to the country's 6,000 voting stations. On each ballot, voters will have to make a single mark, in the appropriate box, indicating YES (on the left side) or NO (on the right side) to the question "Do you approve the draft constitution of Iraq?"
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