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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — Iraq’s National Assembly voted on Wednesday to reverse last-minute changes it had made to rules for next week’s referendum on a new constitution following criticism by the United Nations and a boycott threat by the Sunni minority.
After a brief debate and with only about half of its 275 members present, the assembly voted 119-28 to restore the original voting rules for the Oct. 15 referendum.
Washington hopes a “yes” vote in the referendum will unite Iraq’s disparate factions and erode support for the country’s bloody insurgency.
Sunni Arabs are campaigning to defeat the constitution at the polls, but U.S. and U.N. officials want them to participate in the vote. They hope that restoring the original rules will avert a Sunni boycott of the referendum, which would have deeply undermined the credibility of the vote and wreck efforts to bring Sunnis into the political process.
“The government is completely keen to make the constitutional process legitimate and of high credibility and we are concerned about the success of this process rather than the results of the referendum,” government spokesman Laith Kubba said after the vote.
An official with the United Nations, which is supervising the referendum, praised the parliament for reversing the decision, saying he believed Sunni Arabs will now take part in the referendum. He spoke on condition of anonymity because official comment should come from U.N. headquarters in New York.
Many Sunnis oppose the charter and want it rewritten, believing it would divide Iraq and leave Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north with virtual autonomy and control over the country’s oil wealth.
The original rules, now restored, mean that Sunnis can veto the constitution by getting a two-thirds “no” vote in three provinces, even if the charter wins majority approval nationwide. Sunni Arabs are dominant in four of the 18 provinces.
On Sunday, Iraq’s Shiite- and Kurdish-controlled parliament effectively closed that loophole with their rule change. The legislature decided that a simple majority of those who cast votes means the constitution’s victory — but that two-thirds of all registered voters must cast “no” ballots in three provinces to defeat it.
That interpretation had raised the bar to a level almost impossible to meet.
The text approved by parliament Wednesday confirmed that the word “voters” throughout the election rules in the interim constitution has a single meaning: those who cast votes.
“The word ’voters’ in paragraph (c), article 61 of the Transitional Administrative law, means registered voters who actually cast their votes in the referendum,” reads the text, according to deputy speaker Hussain al-Shahristani.
On Sunday, Iraq’s Shiite- and Kurdish-controlled parliament had sought to close the loophole enabling Sunnis to reject the constitution by interpreting the word “voters” two different ways in that article.
In behind-the-scenes negotiations Tuesday, U.N. and U.S. officials pressed Iraqi legislators and government officials to reverse that change.
The U.N. said the change was a violation of international standards.
“Ultimately, this will be a sovereign decision by the Iraqis, and it’s up to the Iraqi National Assembly to decide on the appropriate electoral framework,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York on Tuesday. “That being said, it is our duty in our role in Iraq to point out when the process does not meet international standards.”
The Americans were talking separately with the Shiite-led government.
Officials are racing to prepare for the crucial vote only 10 days away. On Monday, the United Nations began distributing 5 million copies of the constitution to voters.
The U.N. mission in Iraq said Tuesday it has delivered more than 4 million pounds of ballots, polling boxes and voter screens. The world body also will monitor the vote.
Sunni participation is also tied to security in the central provinces where they are concentrated and where the Sunni-led insurgency is at its strongest.
The location of polling stations has not been announced in Anbar province for fear they will be attacked. Officials are promising to flood the media with their locations just before the vote so residents know where to go.
The U.S. military is waging two major offensives in Anbar, one at the Syrian border, the other around the town of Haditha, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq militants. Commanders are promising to finish the assaults in time for the referendum.
After a brief debate and with only about half of its 275 members present, the assembly voted 119-28 to restore the original voting rules for the Oct. 15 referendum.
Washington hopes a “yes” vote in the referendum will unite Iraq’s disparate factions and erode support for the country’s bloody insurgency.
Sunni Arabs are campaigning to defeat the constitution at the polls, but U.S. and U.N. officials want them to participate in the vote. They hope that restoring the original rules will avert a Sunni boycott of the referendum, which would have deeply undermined the credibility of the vote and wreck efforts to bring Sunnis into the political process.
“The government is completely keen to make the constitutional process legitimate and of high credibility and we are concerned about the success of this process rather than the results of the referendum,” government spokesman Laith Kubba said after the vote.
An official with the United Nations, which is supervising the referendum, praised the parliament for reversing the decision, saying he believed Sunni Arabs will now take part in the referendum. He spoke on condition of anonymity because official comment should come from U.N. headquarters in New York.
Many Sunnis oppose the charter and want it rewritten, believing it would divide Iraq and leave Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north with virtual autonomy and control over the country’s oil wealth.
The original rules, now restored, mean that Sunnis can veto the constitution by getting a two-thirds “no” vote in three provinces, even if the charter wins majority approval nationwide. Sunni Arabs are dominant in four of the 18 provinces.
On Sunday, Iraq’s Shiite- and Kurdish-controlled parliament effectively closed that loophole with their rule change. The legislature decided that a simple majority of those who cast votes means the constitution’s victory — but that two-thirds of all registered voters must cast “no” ballots in three provinces to defeat it.
That interpretation had raised the bar to a level almost impossible to meet.
The text approved by parliament Wednesday confirmed that the word “voters” throughout the election rules in the interim constitution has a single meaning: those who cast votes.
“The word ’voters’ in paragraph (c), article 61 of the Transitional Administrative law, means registered voters who actually cast their votes in the referendum,” reads the text, according to deputy speaker Hussain al-Shahristani.
On Sunday, Iraq’s Shiite- and Kurdish-controlled parliament had sought to close the loophole enabling Sunnis to reject the constitution by interpreting the word “voters” two different ways in that article.
In behind-the-scenes negotiations Tuesday, U.N. and U.S. officials pressed Iraqi legislators and government officials to reverse that change.
The U.N. said the change was a violation of international standards.
“Ultimately, this will be a sovereign decision by the Iraqis, and it’s up to the Iraqi National Assembly to decide on the appropriate electoral framework,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York on Tuesday. “That being said, it is our duty in our role in Iraq to point out when the process does not meet international standards.”
The Americans were talking separately with the Shiite-led government.
Officials are racing to prepare for the crucial vote only 10 days away. On Monday, the United Nations began distributing 5 million copies of the constitution to voters.
The U.N. mission in Iraq said Tuesday it has delivered more than 4 million pounds of ballots, polling boxes and voter screens. The world body also will monitor the vote.
Sunni participation is also tied to security in the central provinces where they are concentrated and where the Sunni-led insurgency is at its strongest.
The location of polling stations has not been announced in Anbar province for fear they will be attacked. Officials are promising to flood the media with their locations just before the vote so residents know where to go.
The U.S. military is waging two major offensives in Anbar, one at the Syrian border, the other around the town of Haditha, about 140 miles northwest of Baghdad to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq militants. Commanders are promising to finish the assaults in time for the referendum.
