UN criticizes change to referendum rule: Iraq’s constitution
BAGHDAD, Oct 4: The United Nations has criticized a last minute rule change just 10 days before a referendum on Iraq’s draft constitution, sources said on Tuesday, adding the latest dash of controversy to the troubled process.
The stinging criticism from the UN’s Iraq mission comes as political factions are still seeking last-minute amendments to the text and most voters have not yet even seen a copy of the new basic law.
In addition, Iraq’s 15.7 million voters will have to brave rebel threats of violence to participate in the October 15 vote, while leading think-tank has suggested adoption could hasten the country’s break up.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), which has been tasked with circulating copies of the constitution, savaged recent changes to the electoral law that make it harder for voters to reject the draft constitution.
Parliament on Sunday approved new rules specifying that while a simple majority of those turning out to vote are needed to approve the draft constitution, it would require two-thirds of those registered to vote in at least three provinces to reject it.
This will make it harder for Sunnis in provinces where they are dominant force to reject the constitution — previously it had required a two-thirds majority of voters rather than registered voters.
“You cannot have two different meanings in one article. It’s using interpretation to your own benefit,” according to a UNAMI official who requested anonymity.
“It’s virtually impossible for the Sunnis to block the constitution” under the present rules, the official said.
“We have raised concern and are negotiating a possible solution to reach a compromise” with the government, the official added.
Leaders of the country’s majority Shia population, along with those representing the Kurdish minority, have called for a ‘yes’ vote.
But many Sunni leaders have urged rejection of the text on the grounds that it undermines the country’s national unity by opening the doors to federalism, and waters down its ‘Arab’ identity.
At least three provinces have a majority Sunni population.
US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, acting as a go-between, has been pressing political factions for last-minute amendments to the text to encourage at least some Sunnis to vote for it.
Amendments remain possible until the very last minute, or at least until such a time as the draft is printed in local newspapers, according to one Western official who declined to be named.
Meanwhile, the UN in New York on Monday sought to play down an internal confidential report which suggests the draft constitution is a recipe for the country’s disintegration.
Newsweek reported in its latest issue that the confidential report, dated September 15, warned that the draft was a ‘model for the territorial division of the state’.
UN chief Kofi Annan’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, stressed this was only an internal report, adding that “as far as the UN is concerned, the constitution itself will have to be judged by the Iraqis on October 15 during the referendum”.
A leading Brussels-based think-tank last week also warned that the rushed drafting of the constitution has deepened sectarian rifts and was likely to fuel the resistance and hasten the country’s violent break-up.—AFP
