Iraqis Approve Constitution in Tiny Step Forward

Iraqis went to the polls on Saturday to decide on the fate of a draft constitution that few of them had read. While most Sunni voters appear to have rejected it, the rules are such that the referendum has approved the document. President Bush hailed this as “a severe blow to the terrorists,” and former Democratic candidate for president, retired general Wesley Clark said, “I wish this were the end of the story in Iraq, but it isn't.” The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between the two.

On the positive side, the Iraqis are getting into the habit of voting in an election where the outcome is not necessarily a foregone conclusion. This particular constitution doesn’t really matter very much. A last minute compromise that won over a few Sunni politicos allows for further amendments to the document after December’s parliamentary elections. So the people approved a work-in-progress. However, it is going to be very hard for any future Iraqi government to tell its people they shouldn’t vote on major issues. One rather heartening film clip was of a woman with a child in her hands, and the child was putting Mommy’s ballot into the box. That djinn won’t be headed back into the bottle any time soon.

At the same time, reports from journalists linguistically capable of following the debate stated that the internet chat rooms, newspapers and electronic media throughout the Muslim world kept tabs on the progress of the vote. Real discussion of the issues (not always positively spun) seems to have occurred. This, too, is going to color future political events in the region in favor of consulting the people as to how they shall be governed.

On the down side, this constitution looks to have been rejected by most Sunnis. Indeed, the count (still incomplete) shows that the rejectionists failed to get the 2/3 majorities in three of the nation’s 18 provinces to scuttle the constitution. However, it looks like two provinces (Anbar and Salahaddin) did vote in such numbers. Nineveh (with a large Kurdish population) looks like it voted “no” as well, but not by 2/3. Which is more likely, the “no” voters will admit defeat and play nicely? Or will they point out that most of the Sunnis rejected the constitution and decide the ballot doesn’t work for them?

When all is said and done, the fact that the Iraqi people discussed the issues (to a degree) and then voted on them is the lasting legacy of the referendum. The reports of the debate on Al-Iraqiya, Al-Jazeera and the other Muslim media outlets will do far more to spark the democratization of the nations in the region than anything else. Of course, that might not be a good thing for the Americans – millions of people who hate Uncle Sam voting for and against governments isn’t going to make foreign policy any easier for the Bush team. And the Bush team isn't ready for anything more than the Dick and Jane version of international affairs.

© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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