Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari votes in the constitutional referendum in Baghdad, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005.
Posted on 10/14/2005 9:28:53 PM PDT by sonsofliberty2000
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) Voting has begun in Iraq's historic constitutional referendum.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari votes in the constitutional referendum in Baghdad, Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005.
Minaa Ishaak, 82, raises his inked finger after casting his vote in a constitutional referendum in Baghdad October 15, 2005. 'I am voting for Iraq's future and the future of my children,' said Ishaak after voting 'yes' in the referendum.
An Iraqi raises his inked finger after voting in the constitutional referendum in the Sunni-dominated town of Falluja, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, October 15, 2005.
If only AG had went with earth tones earlier.
Iraqis wait in line to vote in the constitutional referendum in the holy city of Najaf, 160km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, October 15, 2005.
An elderly Iraqi man is assisted to cast his ballot at a polling station near Baquba, Iraq October 15, 2005.
An Iraqi woman votes 'Yes' on the constitutional referendum in Baghdad's Sadr City October 15, 2005.
A man who lost his hand in the Iran-Iraq War votes on the constitutional referendum in Baghdad's Sadr City October 15, 2005.
Iraqis Vote on a Constitution; Security High, Only Minor Violence Reported
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By Hamza Hendawi Associated Press Writer
Published: Oct 15, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqis went to the polls Saturday to give a "yes" or "no" vote to a new constitution aimed at defining democracy in a nation once ruled by Saddam Hussein and now sharply divided among its Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish communities.
The polls opened at 7 a.m., just hours after government workers managed to restore power lines that insurgents had sabotaged in the northern part of the country Friday night, plunging the Iraqi capital and surrounding towns into darkness.
Iraqis across the country headed to polling stations protected by concrete barriers and barbed wire. Some entire families showed up at the ballot box.
American troops in Humvees rattled down Baghdad streets, U.S. helicopters hovered in the skies, and Iraqi soldiers and police ringed polling stations at schools and other public buildings. Driving was banned to stop suicide car bombings by Sunni-led insurgents determined to wreck the vote.
Militants attacked three of the capital's 1,200 polling stations, wounding two policemen and a civilian, but Iraq was mostly peaceful. Nearly 450 people had been killed by Sunni-led insurgents in the 19 days before Saturday's vote, often by suicide car bombs, roadside bombs and drive-by shootings.
In the south, the heartland of Iraq's Shiite majority, lines formed at polling stations in Basra, Hillah and other major cities as people poured in to vote on a constitution Shiite leaders have strongly supported. The community's top cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has told followers they must vote "yes."
"Today, I came to vote because I am tired of terrorists, and I want the country to be safe again," said Zeinab Sahib, a 30-year-old mother of three, one of the first voters in the mainly Shiite Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada. "This constitution means unity and hope."
But turnout appeared low in the early hours in Sunni Arab towns in the center and west.
Ramadi, the capital of overwhelmingly Sunni Arab Anbar province, looked like a ghost town. At the hour polls opened, insurgents clashed with U.S. troops in the downtown streets.
Only about 20 people had voted in the Sunni town of Haditha, northwest of Baghdad, after three hours. Said Ahmad Fliha walked up the hill to the fortified polling station with the help of a relative.
"I'm 75 years old. Everything is finished for me. But I'm going to vote because I want a good future for my children," Fliha said.
At Iraq's approximately 6,100 polling stations, voters marked their paper ballot "yes" or "no" under one question, written in Arabic and Kurdish: "Do you agree on the permanent constitution project?" After placing the ballots in the plastic boxes at the polling centers, the Iraqis had the forefinger of their right hands marked with violet ink to prevent multiple voting.
Iraqis remain deeply divided over the approximately 140-page charter draft constitution. The country's Shiite majority - some 60 percent of its 27 million people - and the Kurds - another 20 percent - support the charter, which provides them with autonomy in the regions where they are concentrated in the south and north.
The Sunni Arab minority, which dominated the country under Saddam and forms the backbone of the insurgency, widely opposes the draft, convinced its federalist system will eventually tear the country apart into Shiite and Kurdish mini-states, leaving Sunnis in an impoverished center. Many of them feel the document doesn't sufficiently support Iraq's Arab character.
Last-minute amendments in the constitution, adopted Wednesday, promise Sunnis the chance to try to change the charter more deeply later, prompting one Sunni Arab group - the Iraqi Islamic Party - to support the draft Saturday. Most others still reject it, but a split in the Sunni vote may be enough to ensure its passage.
In Baghdad, President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari were shown live on Al-Iraqiya television voting in a hall in the heavily fortified Green Zone, where parliament and the U.S. Embassy are based. After putting their paper ballots in white-and-black plastic boxes, both smiled and waved.
"The constitution will pave the way for a national unity," said al-Jaafari. "It is a historical day, and I am optimistic that the Iraqis will say 'yes.'
The United States hopes that the constitution's success will pave the way for withdrawing American troops.
Ratification of the document requires approval by a majority of voters nationwide.
However, if two-thirds of voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote "no," the constitution will be defeated, and Sunni Arab opponents have a chance of swinging the ballot in four volatile provinces: Anbar, Nineveh, Salahuddin and Diyala.
The situation at polling stations across Iraq varied widely.
In the central Baghdad area of Khulani, where Sunnis and Shiites both live, a steady stream of voters entered a large polling station. All voters were searched three times before entering the building, including old men and women who could barely walk with canes, and young mothers wearing chadors and carrying infants.
"I am an Iraqi citizen. Of course, I voted 'yes,'" said Abid Ali Hussein, an elderly man with a white beard, as he left the area. "God willing, there will be no terrorism."
In the mostly Shiite city of Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, lines quickly formed. Some voters carried Iraqi flags and banners saying, "Yes to the constitution." Iraqi police guarding the streets and imams at local mosques both used loudspeakers to urge Hillah residents to cast ballots.
But Haditha - a mostly Sunni Arab city 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, where a large U.S. offensive was just fought against insurgents - showed much less enthusiasm.
Other than soldiers and polling station workers, no one showed up to vote in the first 90 minutes of voting. One reason was that residents had only be told of the polling site locations minutes beforehand.
Just after dawn U.S. Humvees roamed the streets, blaring the location of two polling sites in the city. The locations were kept hidden until the last minute to prevent insurgent attacks.
"I voted 'no' because the new government says if there is trouble in the future, Iraq could be split. I say there should be one nation," said voter Obeidi Amir Nasser, 30.
One U.S. soldier said he hoped the "yes" side would prevail.
"I hope they have a really big turnout," said Lance Cpl. Sam Smithson of Sacramento, Calif., as he guarded the entrance of the station. "The closer they get to independence, the closer we get to going home."
In Fallujah, the mostly Sunni city west of Baghdad that was heavily damaged by a U.S. offensive against insurgents in 2004, hundreds of Iraqis gathered in front of many polling centers chanting: "No, no for the constitution. Yes, yes for Iraq."
Mustafa Kamil, a 32-year-old laborer, said he would vote "no" because the constitution is "the first step toward dividing Iraq" and runs against Islamic Sharia law.
"This constitution does not say that Iraq is an Arab country," he said in an interview. "It was not written by Iraqi hands and it only meets the ambitions of Shiites and Kurds, since they have a majority in parliament."
AP-ES-10-15-05 0431EDT
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBP36UMTEE.html
Miracle photos. Thanks.
An Iraqi soldier checks men waiting in line to vote in Iraq's constitution referendum, in Samarra, Iraq, Saturday Oct. 15, 2005.
Iraqi men crowd into a polling station to vote in the constitutional referendum in the town of Falluja, 50km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, October 15, 2005.
Makes you wonder what the DU is saying about the vote in Iraq...
Thank you for all these wonderful photos. I'm still waiting for the cable news stations to begin coverage.
Thanks for the ping.....Am looking forward to this success.
Sort of sticking their collective finger in the insurgents eye! WOO HOO!
Bless you and son!
Thank your son for me..
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