Iraq’s election commission announced Monday that it would
investigate possible voting irregularities in the country’s
weekend referendum on a new constitution, throwing a new kink into
the tumultuous democratization process.
On the verge of approving their new draft constitution, Iraqis
will face continued obstacles in the coming months and years as
they try to harness their fledgling democracy while maintaining
standards to be set by the constitution.
Though the Electoral Commission said it will investigate
“unusually high” numbers of “yes” votes in
several provinces, the constitution is nonetheless expected to
pass.
Word of the review came as Sunni Arab leaders repeated
accusations of voter fraud after initial reports from the provinces
suggested the constitution had passed.
Among their allegations were that police took ballot boxes from
heavily “no” districts, that some “yes”
areas had more votes than registered voters, and that supporters of
the charter were allowed to vote in crucial provinces in which they
do not live.
Questions about the numbers raised tensions over
Saturday’s referendum, which has already sharply divided
Iraqis.
The coalition that controls the government ““ made up of
most of the Shiite majority and the Kurds ““ supports the
charter. But most Sunni Arabs strongly opposed the document because
they fear it will tear Iraq to pieces and leave them weak and out
of power.
The constitution as it stands would divide the country into
several regions, leaving the Sunnis in the poorer areas.
This sharp divide in the country’s population will need to
be bridged at least to the point that peace can be maintained, said
Thomas Schwartz, a UCLA professor of political science.
“The constitution has to work. That means there has to be
sufficient support for it so that no groups will rise in arms to
prevent it,” he said.
But in order to appease the constitution’s opponents, some
compromises will need to be made in the final draft.
The current constitution, even if passed, will still see some
changes in order to make it acceptable to the more people.
“A lot of it is going to be modified further for the
simple fact that the people running the government realize they
need sufficient support from the community,” Schwartz
said.
“We have a half and half: They voted “˜yes’
with the understanding that there would be some return to the
drawing board,” he said.
This process of approving an unfinished constitution is nothing
new, Schwartz said. The U.S. Constitution was opposed by
antifederalists, but the Bill of Rights was added as a compromise,
he said.
Iraq’s problems stretch beyond the oppositional minority.
The country lacks a strong central government capable of
maintaining order and has been racked with violence during the U.S.
occupation.
“Iraq is somewhat unusual in that it’s still in a
state of semi-anarchy while trying to come up with a broadly
appealing constitution,” Schwartz said.
While there were relatively few insurgent attacks during voting,
much of the ongoing violence in the region is a response to the
changes that occurred after Saddam Hussein was ousted by U.S.
troops in December 2003.
The previously underprivileged Shiite majority has gained new
rights and privileges at the expense of the power previously held
by Sunnis under Hussein.
Rearranging the power structure in the country “will lead
to conflicts,” said Lina Haddad Kreidie, a professor of
political science at UC Irvine.
These conflicts could lead to civil war, “which we see the
seeds of today,” she said.
With reports from Bruin wire services.