Posted on 10/17/2005 2:39:54 PM PDT by rocksblues
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Election workers announced "unusually high" vote counts in Iraq's landmark referendum on the draft constitution, saying Monday that they will audit results showing unexpected ratios of "yes" to "no" votes from some parts of the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Farrakan, Jackson, Rangel all get a pass. Makes me sick to my stomach. If a black man stands up and tells the truth, they are Uncle Toms! Sick, Sick, Sick!
Well the MSM speaks mostly to the U.S. If Iraqis think that the vote was rigged, then it won't matter what the rest of the world thinks.
Exit polling shouldn't be easily dismissed. The great Ukraine democratic revolt happened last year because the exit polling and the election results didn't match. The fact that the constitution passed in the one province that many thought it was most likely to fail, and that it was the deciding vote on the issue, gives rise to suspicions that had better be allayed, regardless of what the MSM think here. If the Sunnis think they have been cheated, there will be civil war.
So will Gregoire end up "winning" by a hundred votes or so?
I'd be pretty leery of any constitution that was unamendable for eight years. I wouldn't want something that was too easily amended, but problems can and do arise and there should be a way to deal with them.
The U.S. Constitution contained two unamendable provisions when ratified. One expired, and the other was, arguably, ignored and violated but seems irrelevant now in any case.
BTW, was the only requirement for ratification be that there not exist three provinces with a >2/3 "no" vote? That seems like a pretty feeble requirement if it's the only one, though it may not be bad if it's a requirement. Is there also something about the majority of provinces having to have a majority "yes" vote or anything like that?
Re: "If the Sunnis think they have been cheated, there will be civil war."
It seems that the choice for the Sunnis was to approve the constitution or fight a civil war.
It is hard to believe that the majority of Sunnis would want a civil war that they would surely lose. Therefore it seems no surprise that the referendum passed.
"BTW, was the only requirement for ratification be that there not exist three provinces with a >2/3 "no" vote? That seems like a pretty feeble requirement if it's the only one, though it may not be bad if it's a requirement. Is there also something about the majority of provinces having to have a majority "yes" vote or anything like that?"
Yes, of course - it's been unstated by the media as too many facts might give away their bias ... :-/ ... but, of course there is a requirement that the majority of Iraqis vote "yes". The MSM never mentions it because then they would have to admit how easily exceeded that requirement is. The Constitution probably got 60-70% 'yes' support overall.
For my latest comment on Iraq see:
http://freedomstruth.blogspot.com/
Only if Jimmy is called in to verify the results!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.