Referendum low-key in Iraqi Kurdistan

SULAIMANIYAH, IRAQ -- A labourer used to early starts, Amjat Mohamed Said was at the polling booth by 6 a.m. That was in January, when Iraq's parliamentary elections took place. On Saturday, as the country voted on its new constitution, he preferred to spend the morning in a tea shop with his friends.

"I'll go later, probably," he said with a shrug. "But let's have a few more glasses of tea first."

It's an attitude that summed up the low-key atmosphere on polling day in Iraq's Kurdish north.

In January, most polling stations reported 90 per cent turnout by midday. On Saturday, only about 60 per cent of voters appeared to have made the trip, most of them arriving in the afternoon.

Some officials blamed public lethargy on Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting when many believers wake late to shorten their day.

Others pointed out that it is easier to get excited about a parliamentary election than an abstract set of laws that received little debate in the Kurdish press.

Among the voters milling around the polling booths, though, only a tiny minority talked about the constitution. For the rest, the referendum was a vote of confidence for the current government.

With Iraq's president hailing from the Kurdish minority and Kurds overrepresented in the Baghdad parliament, almost all said they had an obligation to vote "yes.'' But many did so unwillingly.

"The Kurdish parties promised us the world before the January elections, but they have done nothing since," said Hussein Ibrahim, owner of a sportswear store in central Sulaimaniyah.

"If I had had a choice, I would have voted 'no.' "

After another night of severe electricity cuts throughout Sulaimaniyah, housewife Bafreen Latif made a more radical, last-minute decision: to boycott the referendum.

"I think a lot of people didn't turn out this time around because they are unhappy with the [Kurdish] parties," said Jemal Hussein Wali, supervisor of five polling stations in the poor Sulaimaniyah district of Haji Han.

But while popular anger may be directed at the corruption and incompetence of local authorities, educated Kurds were riled by late changes to the constitution.

Until last week, a vote of approval on Saturday was supposed to set the constitution in stone. Afraid that Sunni Arabs would veto it, though, the U.S. managed to persuade the Shia- and Kurdish-dominated government to add an article permitting further changes to be made early next year.

"This is not a referendum on the constitution," said international election monitor Thomas von der Osten-Sacken. "It is a referendum on a referendum."

It remains to be seen whether the changes are enough to persuade Sunni Arabs to join the political process.

Editor of Hawlati, Iraqi Kurdistan's only independent newspaper, Assos Herdi said bitterly that they are nearly enough to persuade him to turn his back on politics.

"The elected government has been publicly debating this draft for a year now, and then they go and change it at the last moment, behind closed doors," he said.

"It just makes the whole process -- and the constitution -- look like a bad joke."

	HOME \| Pressespiegel	Druckversion
	17.10.2005 \| The Globe and Mail \| by Nicholas Birch Referendum low-key in Iraqi Kurdistan SULAIMANIYAH, IRAQ -- A labourer used to early starts, Amjat Mohamed Said was at the polling booth by 6 a.m. That was in January, when Iraq's parliamentary elections took place. On Saturday, as the country voted on its new constitution, he preferred to spend the morning in a tea shop with his friends. "I'll go later, probably," he said with a shrug. "But let's have a few more glasses of tea first." It's an attitude that summed up the low-key atmosphere on polling day in Iraq's Kurdish north. In January, most polling stations reported 90 per cent turnout by midday. On Saturday, only about 60 per cent of voters appeared to have made the trip, most of them arriving in the afternoon. Some officials blamed public lethargy on Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting when many believers wake late to shorten their day. Others pointed out that it is easier to get excited about a parliamentary election than an abstract set of laws that received little debate in the Kurdish press. Among the voters milling around the polling booths, though, only a tiny minority talked about the constitution. For the rest, the referendum was a vote of confidence for the current government. With Iraq's president hailing from the Kurdish minority and Kurds overrepresented in the Baghdad parliament, almost all said they had an obligation to vote "yes.'' But many did so unwillingly. "The Kurdish parties promised us the world before the January elections, but they have done nothing since," said Hussein Ibrahim, owner of a sportswear store in central Sulaimaniyah. "If I had had a choice, I would have voted 'no.' " After another night of severe electricity cuts throughout Sulaimaniyah, housewife Bafreen Latif made a more radical, last-minute decision: to boycott the referendum. "I think a lot of people didn't turn out this time around because they are unhappy with the [Kurdish] parties," said Jemal Hussein Wali, supervisor of five polling stations in the poor Sulaimaniyah district of Haji Han. But while popular anger may be directed at the corruption and incompetence of local authorities, educated Kurds were riled by late changes to the constitution. Until last week, a vote of approval on Saturday was supposed to set the constitution in stone. Afraid that Sunni Arabs would veto it, though, the U.S. managed to persuade the Shia- and Kurdish-dominated government to add an article permitting further changes to be made early next year. "This is not a referendum on the constitution," said international election monitor Thomas von der Osten-Sacken. "It is a referendum on a referendum." It remains to be seen whether the changes are enough to persuade Sunni Arabs to join the political process. Editor of Hawlati, Iraqi Kurdistan's only independent newspaper, Assos Herdi said bitterly that they are nearly enough to persuade him to turn his back on politics. "The elected government has been publicly debating this draft for a year now, and then they go and change it at the last moment, behind closed doors," he said. "It just makes the whole process -- and the constitution -- look like a bad joke." © 2005 The Globe and Mail WADI e.V. \| tel.: (+49) 069-57002440 \| fax (+49) 069-57002444 http://www.wadinet.de \| e-mail: