Iraq’s constitutional referendum makes a mockery of democracy

Under the transitional law drawn up by US officials in 2003, originally to guarantee the support of Kurdish parties, the referendum would be lost if a two-thirds majority in three provinces voted no. Sunni organisations and parties have been encouraging their supporters to register and to vote against the draft constitution, making it quite possible that the document will be rejected.

Such a result would be a disaster not just for the regime in Baghdad, but for the Bush administration which has sought to legitimise its occupation through the referendum and national elections planned for mid-December. In the event of a defeat, and if the transitional law were followed, it would mean going back to square one: fresh elections, a new government, a rewritten constitution and another referendum, with no guarantee this one would be accepted either.

Martin Navaias, a defence analyst at King’s College London, commented to Reuters: “The fact is the consequences of this referendum being rejected are massive; they’re just too ghastly to contemplate. If this referendum is rejected, it’s an explicit rejection of the whole political process... It cannot be allowed to fail.”

It was no surprise therefore that the Iraqi National Assembly voted to blatantly rig the referendum in favour of a yes vote. Under the amended rules, a two-thirds majority of registered voters in three provinces would be required to reject the referendum. In other words, if the turnout did not reach two-thirds or 67 percent, it would be impossible for the draft constitution to be defeated. Interestingly, the same definition was not applied to acceptance of the constitution, which still only required a simple majority of those who vote.

Despite the government’s attempts to push the changes through quietly, Sunni leaders reacted angrily and called for a boycott unless the amendments were reversed. Fearful that a low Sunni turnout would further undermine the legitimacy of the vote, UN and US officials criticised the new rules. As a result, the National Assembly voted yesterday to overturn the amendments.

The furore threatened to derail behind-the-scenes efforts by US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad to engineer a deal to split the Sunni vote. Sunni organisations oppose the federal structure contained in the draft constitution, which would pave the way for the establishment of regional governments in the oil-rich Kurdish north and the Shiite south with extensive powers, including over oil revenues and security forces. The predominantly Sunni central and western provinces would lack resources and influence.

According to an article in the Washington Post, Khalilzad has been attempting to convince Shiite and Kurdish leaders to accept Sunni demands for changes to the constitution. To date, negotiations have stalled, after the ruling coalition refused to discuss any changes to the planned federal structure. “We have no objection to changes that help us to achieve mutual understanding but there is no way that we would agree to change the basic principles of the constitution,” Shiite negotiator Ali Debagh declared.

The various sordid manoeuvres make a mockery of the Bush administration’s claim that the referendum is another step towards democracy in Iraq. The presence of more than 140,000 US troops and ongoing operations against those opposed to the US occupation makes any democratic vote impossible.

Read More
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/oct2005/iraq-o06.shtml