The big vote in Iraq on the country’s future — over the constitution — is over and now come the hard part: counting the votes, declaring the results, implementing the constitution and getting ready for possible new violence by those who want to show that the vote means nothing:
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Iraq’s deeply divided Shi’ites, Sunnis and Kurds voted at heavily guarded polling stations across the country Saturday, deciding whether to support a new constitution aimed at establishing democracy after more than two decades of Saddam Hussein’s repressive rule.
As polls closed at 5 p.m. (10 a.m. EDT), people in Baghdad fired guns into the air in celebration. Some Iraqis passed out sweets in the street, just ahead of the end of the day’s Ramadan fast.
As the AP story notes, it wasn’t all smooth sailing — but those who made waves didn’t succeed:
Insurgents attacked five of Baghdad’s 1,200 polling stations with shootings and bombs, wounding seven voters, but there were no major attacks reported as U.S. and Iraqi forces clamped down with major security measures around balloting sites.
The run-up to the referendum has deepened divisions among Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian groups, leading some analysts to fear the constitution will reinforce the split between Sunni Arabs on one side and Shi’ites and ethnic Kurds on the other.
Others argue the constitution will bring the nation, still dealing with the impact of Saddam’s rule and more than two years of U.S. military presence, closer together, if more Sunni Arabs can be brought on board.
The referendum will pass and the constitution be ratified if most voters say “Yes”, and as long as two thirds of voters in three of Iraq’s 18 provinces do not say “No”. The Electoral Commission said results could come as soon as Sunday although other monitors said it would take several days.
Despite apparently strong turnout in many parts of Iraq, there was little sign of voting in the western city of Ramadi, a Sunni bastion where insurgents attacked U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Mohammad writes in Iraq The Model, in a post that should be read in its entirety, notes that no matter how you look at it, the vote is a victory compared to where the country was just a few years ago:
Only hours separate us from a major historic day for our nation (too many historic days for Iraq in these two years!). Tomorrow will draw a line that would mark the beginning of a new era in Iraq; a constitutional Iraq will become reality.
It’s only a beginning since there will be more steps to go but it’s the right beginning because it’s a transition from temporary laws to a permanent-though amendable-constitution on which the people will assume control through their elected representatives and through their own direct votes.It is really amazing how things have changed in Iraq; three years ago Saddam “won� 100% of the votes in a pathetic referendum that he designed in order to give legitimacy to his reign while yesterday even security detainees were allowed to express their opinion on the constitution through voting and the government and parliament are almost begging the 15 million plus voters to say ‘yes’!
And although many signs indicate that the document is on its way to be ratified, no one can say it is until the people decide which checkbox to tick tomorrow.
Some people would say “Is that all you won, after more than two years of war and violence? That’s only one basic right� well, that is the point; we’ve secured one key right that can help us secure the rest.
Approving this draft is not the end goal, it’s a step among others in this process of evolution in Iraq and it’s going to be the gate to more steps until we reach the day when we have a constitution that satisfies and serves the greatest majority of the people.
Here are some of the constitution’s key points.