Iraq's draft constition adopted by voters
Iraq’s landmark constitution was adopted by a majority of voters during the country’s October 15 referendum, election officials said today.
Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq showed that Sunni Arabs, who had sharply opposed the draft document, failed to produce the three-quarters “no” vote they would have needed in at least three of Iraq’s 16 provinces to defeat it.
The commission, which had been auditing the referendum results for 10 days, said at a news conference in Baghdad that Ninevah province, had produced a “no” vote of only 55 per cent. Only two other mostly Sunni Arab provinces - Salahuddin and Anbar – had voted no by two-thirds or more.
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 December 15. Such steps are considered important in any decision about the future withdrawal of US-led forces from Iraq.
