Voters said to hunt for polling sites in west Iraq Hours before a crucial referendum on a new constitution, voters in western Iraq, where many are expected to say "No," were asking themselves a troubling question: where are the polling stations? "There are no voting centers in cities like Haditha, Hit, Rawa, Qaim, Ana, Baghdadi and the villages around them," Mahmoud Salman al-Ani, a human rights activist in Ramadi, said on Friday, listing locations across western Anbar province. "There aren't actually any voting centers or even voting sheets in these cities ... Nobody knows how and where to vote if they decide to," he said of the predominantly Sunni Arab region. Anbar, Iraq's largest province, runs from Baghdad to border Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia and is also the heartland of the Sunni-led insurgency. Much of the population is expected to vote against the U.S.-backed constitution on Saturday. U.S. troops have run a series of operations across the province in the past three weeks, trying to hunt down guerrillas and prepare the generally lawless region for the vote. They said on Friday conditions were now set across the area, including in cities such as Hit and Haditha, the former rebel headquarters of Falluja, and Ramadi, the provincial capital. Hussein al-Hindawi, the head of Iraq's Electoral Commission, which is organizing the vote, said there were 77 polling centers in Ramadi and around 30 in Falluja, and said that if people couldn't find them, they should call the commission. Despite those assurances, Anbar residents and officials were not convinced, saying the lack of easily identifiable polling centers meant discrimination against potential "No" voters. "NO" VOTES MARGINALISED? "The Americans intended to isolate the cities in western Iraq to prevent the huge Sunni population from voting," said Thair al-Hadeethi, a human rights activist from Haditha. In Ramadi, a group of residents said they had walked around their neighborhood looking for a voting center and not found one. Parts of Ramadi are essentially in rebel hands. A Western diplomat in Baghdad said he expected a fair turnout in Anbar, where most voters boycotted elections in January with just two percent turning up on the day. If two-thirds of voters in three of Iraq's 18 provinces vote "No" in the referendum then the constitution will be rejected, even if more than half of all voters nationwide say "Yes." Anbar, where more than 90 percent of the population is Sunni Arab, is likely to be the province with the strongest "No" vote. Despite their displeasure with the constitution, which they see as favoring Iraq's majority Shi'ites and ethnic Kurds -- many of whom are expected to vote "Yes" -- Anbar residents still appeared keen to express their disapproval via the ballot box. "This is a Crusaders' constitution," said Yassir al-Dulaimi, 40, an engineer from Ramadi. "Those who wrote it are people making a living and working for the favor of the occupier and for their own benefit, not for the favor of the country." Clerics in mosques in Ramadi and Haditha urged people to reject the draft charter, and residents talked about leaflets circulated in the streets calling on voters to vote "No." "The constitution is illegal," said Mohammed Hussein, 45, the owner of household appliances shop. "If the Americans want to make it legal then they should first release all the detainees held at U.S. prisons and stop killing innocents." Mosques in Falluja urged people on Friday to cast "No" votes. Sunni religious groups, including the influential Muslim Clerics Association, have made similar calls. (Reporting by Omar al-Ibadi and Mariam Karouny http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051014/wl_nm/iraq_referendum_anbar_dc_1&printer=1
That is ashame. It also tends to remove credibility from those that felt we went into Iraq for democratic purposes.
Credibility? LOL. The world is a twisted place. How sad it was, I remember being young and naive, thinking everyone in power would do what was right, or at least rational, where good and evil were clearly defined, and people were generally nice. Ahh...to be five again. Nap time.
Those who still believe that are the delusional masses. We didn't become the greatest Liberal Empire in history of humanity by being charitable.
Sad to say, but there was no chance that the Bush Administration with its Kurds and selected Shiite allies would allow this vote to be lost.
Report just in that there are power outages all over the country. Wonder if/how that will affect the vote. Don't see a big effect sicne they are using paper ballots. Makes for an interesting night though. Wonder if anyone is trying to take any exit polls.
What proof is there of rigging? One 'activist' makes an assertion and that's proof? Please. "several residents walked around their neighborhood and couldn't find their polling center." Whoa, Nellie! Its obviously a conspiracy.
Do I think it'll be a fair election? I hope so. Do I think this article is proof that it's rigged? No. Hey aggierocket, you gonna watch the game tomorrow?
If the article is correct and there are only polling places in certain areas that favor one side over the other, would that be a fair election?
Exactly. It's funny that people are so quick to bash an election in Iraq. I thought elections were a good thing?
They forgot to mention the man being interviewed about the "where are the polling stations?" topic could not find his shoes anywhere. "How am I supposed to leave my house to vote if I can't find my shoes? This is an American conspiracy. They hid my shoes!"
Karl would be proud... Iraqi Electoral Workers to Audit Results BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's election commission announced Monday that officials were investigating "unusually high" numbers of "yes" votes in about a dozen provinces during Iraq's landmark referendum on a new constitution, raising questions about irregularities in the balloting. Word of the review came as Sunni Arab leaders repeated accusations of fraud after initial reports from the provinces suggested the constitution had passed. Among the Sunni allegations are that police took ballot boxes from heavily "no" districts, and that some "yes" areas had more votes than registered voters. The Electoral Commission made no mention of fraud, and an official with knowledge of the election process cautioned that it was too early to say whether the unusual numbers were incorrect or if they would have an effect on the outcome. But questions about the numbers raised tensions over Saturday's referendum, which has already sharply divided Iraqis. Most of the Shiite majority and the Kurds — the coalition which controls the government — support the charter, while most Sunni Arabs sharply opposed a document they fear will tear Iraq to pieces and leave them weak and out of power. Irregularities in Shiite and Kurdish areas, expected to vote strongly "yes," may not affect the final outcome. The main electoral battlegrounds were provinces with mixed populations, two of which went strongly "yes." There were conflicting reports whether those two provinces were among those with questionable figures. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051017...uCN4Pys0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2Z2szazkxBHNlYwN0bQ--
