Sunni Arabs Urge 'No' Vote in Referendum

[cal04]

Politicians in Saddam Hussein's hometown urged Sunni Arabs to vote "no" in next week's constitutional referendum and insurgents killed one Iraqi and injured 10 with roadside bombs and drive-by shootings on Saturday. On Friday, six Marines were killed by bombs as the U.S. military announced it had completed a major sweep in western Iraqaimed at suppressing al-Qaida militants before the constitutional vote.

If two-thirds of the voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote "no," the referendum fails and Iraq's parliament must be dissolved and replaced in another election. Four of the country's provinces have Sunni majorities. Last month, the Iraqi Islamic Party, country's largest Sunni political organization, urged Iraqis to reject the constitution, saying it threatened "national unity and the identity of Iraqi people." That "no" campaign came to Saddam's hometown of Tikrit on Friday night when the local division of the party distributed about 150 copies of the constitution after prayers at the Tikrit Mosque and urged the worshippers to reject it.

"We brought copies of the constitution here from Baghdad so that you could see it and know the reasons that our party is calling on Sunnis to vote "no,'" Tal'at Dawoud, a senior local party official, said in a speech after evening prayers on Friday, the Muslim day of worship. Many minority Sunnis, most of whom live in central and western Iraq, believe the constitution would create two powerful and wealthy regions that exclude them: one controlled by Kurds in the north and another by Shiites in the south.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051008/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[LynnTheDem]

1. The "constitution" is crap.

Hopefully it fails.

[cal04]

2. I agree but according to this article it doesn't seem like they can

stop it unless some of the other voters hopefully vote no

If Sunni Arabs, who make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population, boycott the vote, the referendum will pass but may be seen as lacking credibility.

A Sunni Arab "No" vote would still probably not defeat the charter, but their participation would at least give the process more legitimacy, political analysts say.

The referendum will pass if more than half the voters say "Yes" and as long as two thirds of voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces do not say "No".

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAK832504.htm

[LynnTheDem]

3. It can be stopped and unless the Kurds AGAIN stuff the ballots

it will be stopped.

Moderate Shia don't want this "constitution" either, so the Kurds and extremist Shia would really have to do serious stuffing.

But watch the violance suddenly increase even more than it already is, so the ballot monitors can't monitor. Just like they couldn't monitor during the January "elections".

[Missy M]

4. It should read, the constitution would create THREE powerful and...

wealthy regions that exclude them: one controlled by Kurds in the north, another by Shiites in the south AND yet another by AMERICANS IN THE WEST.

[OKNancy]

5. kick

[ECH1969]

6. Sunnis fail to agree boycott of Iraq referendum

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The threat of a unified Sunni Arab boycott of next week's constitutional vote in Iraq receded on Saturday as Sunni leaders failed to agree on how to oppose the U.S.-backed document.

After a meeting in a Baghdad mosque, Sunni leaders said they hoped those voters who do decide to participate will vote "No."

The lack of consensus revealed divisions in the Sunni community, with some groups insisting on a boycott to rob the referendum of legitimacy, and others saying a massive Sunni "No" vote was the only way to properly defeat it.

"We do not ask the Iraqi people to boycott or not," said Harith al-Dhari, the head of the Muslim Clerics' Association, one of the Sunni groups arguing strategy ahead of the October 15 referendum.

http://www.metronews.ca/reuters_international.asp?id=100562

[skooooo]

7. This would seem to be a good sign..

I think?

[The_Casual_Observer]

8. I doubt that the insurgency cares about this "vote" anyway.