KurdistanObserver.com

Iraq Vote Fails To Thrill Kurds

Oct 16, 2005
By Jim Muir , BBC News, Arbil

At polling stations in this biggest of the mainly Kurdish cities of the north, there was little of the bustle and excitement that accompanied the general elections here on 30 January.

Polling started slowly, and at some of the city's voting stations, never moved beyond a trickle that dried up altogether for a while in the middle of a long, hot day in the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which is widely observed in Iraqi Kurdistan.

On a tour of voting centres, there was no sign of the enthusiastic queues and crowds that were a feature of the January elections.

With traffic banned for the day, streets were deserted apart from children playing football in the dust. At times, polling officials far outnumbered electors turning out to vote.

The Independent Iraqi Electoral Commission in Baghdad said voting figures in the Kurdish region ranged between 33% and 66% - well below the turnout in the January poll.

Self-rule

But those who did vote were enthusiastic.

"We want to show people that we are Kurds and we are voting, we are proud to show people that we also have the right to be a partner in the new Iraq," said Shahin Omar, resplendent in one of the glittering, spangly robes worn by Kurdish women on special occasions.

"Of course it's a step towards being independent, that's what we believe and that's why we're voting," she added.

"Anyone who says 'No' is not an Iraqi and not a Kurd. There's no 'No' here in Kurdistan," said another voter.

There was little doubt that the vast majority of those who did vote, recorded a "Yes" for the new Iraqi draft constitution.

That is hardly surprising. The draft envisages a loose federal system that endorses the self-rule the Kurds have been developing assiduously for the past 14 years.

They have their own parliament, their own government - in fact two of them, as the region is split between the two big Kurdish parties - and their own security forces.

The new constitution would bless all that, and also allow the Kurds a large measure of control over vital natural resources - oil, gas and water.

The freedoms given to the Kurds and other regions led some Iraqi Sunni leaders to reject the draft, saying it would lead to Iraq's dismemberment.

So the apparently apathetic show of approval from the Kurds was ironic, given that it offers them so much.

Kurdish leaders will be disappointed with the low turnout, assuming it is confirmed. They had predicted at least a 70% vote.

One possible explanation was that many did not bother to vote because they regarded the outcome as a foregone conclusion.

'Right to independence'

Practically all Kurds dream of outright independence. For some, the constitution may not have gone far enough.

Others may have stayed away because they are disgruntled with the two big parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan - which have divided the north between them.

Some ordinary Kurds blame them for poor economic conditions and autocratic practices.

In January, there was more at stake and more competition to prod the voters to turn out in the country's first post-Baathist general election.

They wanted to win the biggest possible stake in the Baghdad parliament. The poll also included regional and provincial elections, sparking lively competition between the parties.

The constitutional referendum saw little of the colourful campaigning that marked the January elections. The general level of public excitement was low.

In a BBC interview on the eve of the referendum, the President of Iraqi Kurdistan, Masoud Barzani, strongly defended the draft, saying it represented the last chance of holding Iraq together.

"Let's be frank and clear," he said. "The Kurdish nation has the right to establish an independent state, just like any other nation in the world.

"But for now, it's in our interest to stay in Iraq, on condition that it's a federal, democratic, pluralistic Iraq.

"We can't accept totalitarian rule or an Iraq ruled by dictatorship or a single party. If Iraq is ruled by a constitution like this [new one], we can live in it, in brotherhood and great happiness.

"I believe that if this constitution is applied, and adhered to, that will be what holds Iraq together."