[JURIST] The final results from the referendum on the draft Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive] will be postponed until Friday at the earliest due to transportation delays and audits being performed because of voting inconsistencies in some provinces, according to officials from the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) [official website]. The audits were announced Monday in response to an unusually high number of “yes” votes [JURIST report] in certain regions. IECI officers must oversee the complicated audit processes, potentially causing further delay. Sunni Arab leaders, who opposed the draft constitution, have alleged that the vote was fixed in Ninevah and Diyala, two provinces with slight Sunni Arab majorities that only received about 20 percent “no” ballots. Since defeat of the charter in three of Iraq’s 18 provinces would veto it, the Sunnis needed either Ninevah or Diyala to join Salahuddin and Anbar, where preliminary results indicated defeat. AP has more.
News