International Institute for Strategic Studies director John Chipman observed that Iraq remains "very unstable" and violent unrest looks set to grow, even if political talks remain the best way forward.
BAGHDAD: Iraq's new constitution has been approved by almost four out of five voters, but the results finally released yesterday have served only to underscore deep sectarian rifts the charter aimed to heal. The country's first post-Saddam charter passed by a simple majority after opponents failed to muster the two-thirds majority in three of Iraq's 18 provinces necessary to block ratification.
Nationwide, 78 per cent voted "yes" in the October 15 referendum, electoral commission spokesman Farid Ayyar said, while in the key Sunni-majority province of Nineveh 55.08pc voted "no" - well below the 66pc that would have scuttled the charter.
But 2.1 million of Iraq's 15.5m voters nonetheless opposed the constitution, largely a result of fears among the disaffected Sunni Arab minority that it will place too much power in the hands of regions and lead to a break-up of Iraq.
The outcome of the referendum finally hinged on the results from Nineveh after the Sunni provinces of Al Anbar and Salaheddin voted against the charter by the necessary two-thirds majority.
The White House called the approval of Iraq's constitution "a landmark day" for efforts to build democracy in the war-torn country and hailed robust rates of voter participation.
International Institute for Strategic Studies director John Chipman observed that Iraq remains "very unstable" and violent unrest looks set to grow, even if political talks remain the best way forward.
Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein's defence committee wants to put US President George W Bush in the dock to mirror the Baghdad trial of the former Iraqi leader over a Shi'ite massacre, a Jordanian lawyer said. "We shall contact international and Arab lawyer associations and will put forward the proof allowing for a trial of the criminal Bush at the same time as the fake trial takes place in Iraq."
