Democracy Prevails in Iraq
October 25, 2005, 12:02 pm |
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Despite all the hand-wringing by news agencies like the BBC (e.g., here and here), Iraqis have approved a draft constitution – with none other than the United Nations lauding the results:
Election results showing Iraqis have ratified a new US-backed constitution by a large margin are accurate and should be trusted, a senior UN official has said.
Speaking after Iraq’s Electoral Commission released final results showing 79 per cent approval for the constitution in the October 15 referendum, Carina Perelli said the balloting process adhered to the highest standard.
“Yes, it has been audited, controlled. It has been done really in a very professional way,” Ms Perelli, head of the UN team providing technical assistance to the Iraqi government, told reporters.
“The result is accurate. It has been checked according to the processes that we all follow when we have elections.”
Yes, many Sunnis voted against the charter, but they voted. Instead of pinning for the glory days of ruling Iraq under Saddam, maybe they will get used to airing their grievances in parliament – not on the street with car bombs.
Related: Iraq
October 25th, 2005 at 9:48 pm
[…] While the historic passage of Iraq’s first democratically approved constitution was barely a footnote to mainstream evening news programs, the Washington Post today admitted some positives: But while there is still anecdotal evidence of vote tampering, no credible evidence of widespread fraud has yet emerged. Western diplomats say they hope that the Sunnis’ strong voter turnout — 88 percent of the voters cast ballots in the Sunni-majority province of Salahaddin, for instance — indicates their rejection of violence and support for political means to bring change. And some Sunnis said Tuesday they are looking forward to improving their membership in parliament in December’s elections. […]
October 28th, 2005 at 7:16 pm
[…] Iraqis are learning the intricacies of democratic politics, as “accountability has taken root in Iraqi.” Coalitions are being formed and reshuffled. Pundits are speculating on party endorsements. A free press is flourishing. Millions have voted in two rounds of elections. Sunnis participated big-time in most recent elections, allaying all the fears about whether they were “engaged.” With a new constitution ratified – the vote endorsed by the UN – Iraqis are entering the final stretch in proving that democracy can work in an Arab country (the Lebanese have recently proved that, too). […]
November 17th, 2005 at 9:16 pm
[…] Iraqis are learning the intricacies of democratic politics, as “accountability has taken root.” Coalitions are being formed and reshuffled. Pundits are speculating on party endorsements. A free press is flourishing. Millions have voted in two rounds of elections. Sunnis participated big-time in most recent elections, allaying all the fears about whether they were “engaged” (the link is from Aljazeera). With a new constitution ratified — the vote endorsed by the UN — Iraqis are entering the final stretch in proving that democracy can work in an Arab country (the Lebanese have recently proved that, too). […]