Two governorates reject Iraqi referendum

Information relating to the results of the referendum on the Iraqi draft constitution was contradictory, however, preliminary results expect the consent of the Iraqi voters on the draft constitution.

One official at the independent higher commission for the elections in Iraq said that 71% of the voters in Salah Eddine governorate of the Sunni majority said "no" for the constitution, noting that the result is preliminary and not final and the results will be audited so as to be officially declared later. The constitution is also expected to be rejected by the voters in al-Anbar governorate.

A senior governorate official said that 419,000 voting cards were selected out of 643,000 cards cast by voters and the results showed that percentage of supporters reached 75%, which in reality means "ruling out the possibility that this governorate will reject the constitution." The Kurdish leaders refused accusations made by the Sunni Arabs that they had stacked Musil city with Kurdish voters.

In Deyali governorate, which is inhabited by a mixture of the Arab Sunni, the Shiite, the Kurds and the Turkmans, the percentage of participation reached 66%, according to preliminary information from higher commission sources.

The director of Deyali commission Amer Latif al- Yahya said that the participation was great and the preliminary results indicate a positive position. According to his estimates, Deyali will not be among the three governorates which will reject the constitution.

Under these figures and its implications on political conditions, the media expert in the commission Fred Ayar denied the issuance of any figures on the results of the referendum, noting that figures issued by certain offices here and there might be predictions and leaked news.

Rules of the referendum requires that two thirds of the voters at least in three out of the 18 Iraqi governorates to vote "no " for the draft constitution to fail, even if the majority of the Iraqis approve it.

One official in the higher independent commission for the elections in Iraq said that the majority of voters in the governorates of al-Anbar and Salah Eddine rejected the constitution in the referendum. Percentage of the rejecters in Samera alone was 95%.

Results of the elections indicate strong support for the constitution in the Shiite governorates in the south, against large scale rejections in the Sunni area in the north and the west.

Saleh al-Mutallak, one of the Sunni Arab leaders, expected that a rate exceeding 80% would reject the constitution.

If the Arab Sunni reject the referendum at a majority in Ninawa governorate north of Iraq, that would fail the referendum, though one official expects this governorate to vote yes for the constitution.

In Deyali governorate which is inhabited by a mixture of the Arab Sunni, the Shiite, the Kurds and the Turkmans, the director of the elections commissioner in the city Amer Lteif al Yahya said that the participation was great and the preliminary results indicate a positive position. According to his estimates Deyali will not be within the three governorates that will reject the draft constitution.