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Baghdad, Asharq Al-Awsat- A public opinion poll
conducted by the Iraqi Center for Development and
International Dialogue concerning the constitutional
process and the next elections showed that 88
percent of polled Iraqis intended to participate in
the referendum on the proposed permanent
constitution. The poll also showed that 6 percent of
them have not decided whether to participate in the
referendum or not and 5 percent did not wish to
participate. While 30 percent of the sampled Iraqi
citizens supported the establishment of a federal
system, 84 percent expressed their support for
women's rights.
In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr. Mahdi
al-Hafiz, the director of the center, said, "Public
opinion polls are an advanced mechanism and an
effective method for understanding the directions in
public opinion on fundamental issues." He noted that
this poll "assumes extraordinary importance because
of the role the constitution can play in Iraq's
future." Al-Hafiz said, "There is a need to learn
the views of the citizens on difficult and
controversial issues to determine the trends in
society. The results reached by the Iraqi Center for
Development and International Dialogue deserve
attention, particularly regarding the position on
federalism, natural resources, and religion and
state, and this was reflected in the results of the
poll."
The poll surveyed the opinions of 3,667 people, aged
18 years and older. They represented 3,708 families
in the Governorates of Al-Sulaymaniyah, Ninawa, Al-Ta'mim,
Diyala, Baghdad, Babil, Karbala, Wasit,
Salah-al-Din, Al-Najaf, Al-Qadisiyah, Al-Muthanna,
Dhi Qar, Maysan, and Al-Basrah. Males represented 53
percent of the sample and females 47 percent. The
results of the poll also showed that 88 percent
believed in the need to hold the referendum under
the present circumstances, 10 percent did not
believe so, 2 percent did not respond, and 10
percent did not view the referendum as something
important. About 34 percent of the sample thought
that Iraq was not an independent and sovereign
country, 23 percent felt that the constitution did
not occupy their attention or fulfill their
aspirations, and 13 percent said that the country
did not need democracy at this time. About 61
percent thought that the security situation is
inappropriate and 27 percent felt that foreigners
were forcing them to amend the constitution at this
time.
The results of the poll showed that 40 percent of
the 5 percent who did not wish to participate in the
referendum were not interested in politics, 26
percent were not interested in the constitution, 17
percent did not feel that the security situation was
good to hold the referendum, and 12 percent thought
that the time was not appropriate for writing the
constitution. About 30 percent supported federalism,
45 percent supported the establishment of a central
government, 23 percent a federal government, 16
percent a decentralized government, and 13 percent
did not express an opinion. This confirms the
relative closeness between those who want a central
government and those who want a decentralized
government.
About 42 percent supported the need to make Islam a
main source of legislation and 24 percent supported
the need to make Islam the only source of
legislation. About 13 percent thought that no laws
that contradict Islam should be enacted and 14
percent thought that Islam is one of the sources of
legislation. About 84 percent supported granting
women all freedoms without contradicting Islam and
13 percent believed that the rights of women should
be guaranteed through equality with men. About 60
percent supported maintaining the present percentage
of women representation in parliament (25 percent),
21 percent thought that women should have 33 percent
representation, and 14 percent thought that there
should be equal representation of males and females.
Regarding the natural resources, the poll showed
that 50 percent believed that the central government
should distribute these resources in a relative way
and 19 percent believed that an independent body
established by the constitution should handle the
distribution. About 12 percent supported
distributing the resources according to percentages
specified by the constitution between the federal
government and the regions, while 8 percent believed
that the government of the region that possesses the
resources should distribute them. About 52 percent
thought the constitution should be impartial,
establishing the basis for justice and equality.
While 35 percent thought this was extremely
possible, 5 percent did not think so and 7 percent
did not respond to the question. About 78 percent of
the polled citizens expected the security situation
to improve after the approval of the constitution,
15 percent expected the situation to remain the
same, and 2 percent believed that the security
situation would become worse. About 85 percent of
the polled Iraqis showed interest in the next
elections and 10 percent did not show any interest.
About 82 percent responded that the purpose of the
next elections is to elect a new parliament, 6
percent said it is to choose local councils, and 2
percent said it is to choose a national assembly for
the Kurdistan region.
Asharq Alawsat
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