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Two Sunni provinces reject Iraqi
constitution
25.10.2005
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Baghdad, 24 Oct.
(AKI) - Iraqi election officials say two of the
country's Sunni-dominated provinces have rejected
the draft constitution in the referendum held on 15
October. If two thirds of voters in three provinces
say 'no' to the document it will fail and the
current parliament will be dissolved, with new
elections held by December 15 to elect a new interim
parliament. Well over two-thirds of voters in the
Salahuddin and Anbar provinces are said to have
voted the constitution down, while the
Sunni-dominated Diyala province voted in favour.
Now the country is awaiting the result of the vote
in the Sunni province of Nineveh, expected on
Tuesday or Wednesday, which will decide the fate of
the charter.
The referendum rule allowing the constitution to
fail if not approved in three provinces was set by
US administrator Paul Bremer in 2003, to ensure that
each of the main ethnic groups in the country has
the option of voting it down. The minority Sunnis
and Kurds each dominate in at least three provinces
of the country.
Most Sunnis are deeply opposed to the constitution,
fearing it would divide Iraq into a Kurdish north
and Shiite south, cutting them out of the oil wealth
in the south, and leaving the country vulnerable to
greater influence from Shiite-ruled Iran. The Sunnis
make up around 20 percent of the Iraqi population,
along with the Kurds, while Shiites represent some
60 percent.
If the constitution is passed, general elections
will be held no later than December 15 to form a new
government, which would be sworn in by December 31.
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