October 05, 2005

Voters? When, before, or after the election?

Evidently, if the voting goes well and there is a majority of votes for it, the constitution passes. If the majority votes are against it, then only the "registered voters" ballots will be counted. Not all the votes cast will be counted and tallied. An interesting switch that the UN decries and Washingtom may just see it as a great step forward for Democracy, no doubt in it's hurried flight from Iraq.

From ABC News: "Election rules hold that the constitution will be defeated if two-thirds of voters in any three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote against it even if it wins majority approval nationwide. Sunni Arabs have a sufficient majority in four provinces.

But on Sunday, parliament passed a new interpretation of the rules declaring that two-thirds of registered voters must vote "no" not two-thirds of those who actually vote. The interpretation raises the bar to a level almost impossible to meet. In a province of 1 million registered voters, for example, 660,000 would have to vote "no" even if that many didn't even come to the polls."