Iraq’s first post-Saddam Hussein Constitution has been approved, the independent electoral commission said on Tuesday, as it announced the final results of this month’s landmark referendum.
The new 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, commission spokesperson Farid Ayyar said.
The outcome of the October 15 referendum finally hinged on the results of the mainly Sunni northern province of Nineveh, which was among the last provinces to declare its results.
Two other Sunni majority provinces had already voted against the charter by the necessary two-thirds majority, but Nineveh voters only rejected the text by 55% to 45%, insufficient to block its adoption.
Sunni Arabs, who dominated Saddam Hussein’s regime and all previous Iraqi governments, generally opposed the new Constitution, fearing its federal nature would leave the country’s vast oil resources in the hands of Kurds and Shi’ites.
Passage of the Constitution paves the way for legislative elections in December, though lawmakers are to convene a body to consider further changes to the basic law under an accord hammered out ahead of the referendum.
About 15,5-million Iraqi voters were asked whether or not they approved the new charter that places considerable power in the hands of regional authorities, and enshrines Kurdish autonomy in the north.
The Shi’ites are expected to form a similar autonomous region in central and southern Iraq. — AFP