Ninevah, the predominantly Sunni Arab province and home to Mosul city, apparently has guaranteed adoption of Iraq’s first-ever democratic Constitution by approving the document in large numbers.
Opponents of the Constitution needed a two-thirds “no” vote in at least three of Iraq’s 18 provinces to reject the Constitution.
Al-Anbar province (home of Fallujah) and Salahuddin province (home of Tikrit) may have voted more than two-thirds “no.” That’s still not clear. But the Constitution’s opponents also needed a rejection by Ninevah, and it didn’t happen.
Ninevah: 78% ‘yes.’ An unofficial vote count in Ninevah, counting 275 of 300 polling stations, shows 326,000 voted “yes” and 90,000 voted “no.” That’s 78 percent in favor.
Gathering Sunni Arab votes for a free and democratic future wasn’t easy. Some Sunni leaders had to risk their lives and reputations to guide their countrymen.
Among the heroes were Mohsen Abdel Hamid and Tareq al-Hashemi, leaders of the Iraqi Islamic Party, who negotiated compromises in the Constitution and then urged their fellow Sunni Arabs to approve the draft.
Peace workers. For their hard work to build a lasting peace in a free Iraq, Hamid and Hashemi were threatened with death. The Nobel Prize Committee didn’t notice.
Frank Warner
SEE ALSO: Final count: Iraqi Constitution passed by 78.59% of voters, and by 15 of 18 provinces.
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