The votes have been counted and the draft constitution approved, but Iraqi opinion remains divided over the referendum results .| Next thing you know, they'll be telling us some people voted in favor and some didn't... |
| "You musta cheated! We didn't win!" |
The outcome of the 15 October 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.
| That's less than 66%, isn't is? |
Mahmood al-Azzawi, also a prominent member of the National Dialogue Congress claimed the entire electoral process was rigged. "Fraud occured, especially in regard to the Mosul vote. It is too big to have any dispute about." He further added: "86% of Mosul's residents voted No and that was according to accurate statistics made by over 300 independent supervisors in the province."
Salih al-Mutlag, the spokesman for the National Dialogue Congress, said a recount in Mosul will possibly be demanded. "There was fraud everywhere, but it is Mosul that matters because it was pivotal to defeating this unaccepted constitution," he said.