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Anomalies exposed in Iraq charter vote

* Rechecking delays announcement of referendum results

BAGHDAD: Iraqi election officials combed through ballots Tuesday from an historic referendum on the country’s new constitution after the discovery of “anomalies” in the vote.

The checks delayed an announcement of the results of the vote on a charter that seeks to frame democratic foundations for a new Iraq following the toppling of former dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime in April 2003.

Confusion has surrounded the ballot count since Iraqis voted on the draft constitution Saturday, and election officials announced Monday that the results would be delayed after unusually high figures were reported. “The first controls are now taking place,” in what would eventually be a nationwide audit, a senior electoral official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“We are not ruling out technical error or fraud, but for now it is only a question of anomalies.”

Problems with initial figures transmitted to the Independent Electoral Commission were found in southern Shiite provinces as well as in Kurdish areas in the north, where the numbers of ‘yes’ votes were very high, the source said.

Sunni Arabs were largely opposed to the text, fearing it could lead to the break-up of Iraq and the placing of its vast oil wealth in the hands of Shiites and Kurds.

“When you have more than 90 percent ‘yes’, computers signal it immediately and there is a manual check. It means the figures must be looked at closely,” the source said.

Sunnis Arabs, “appear to have played by the rules,” the source said. The constitution will be adopted if a majority of voters approve it but will be rejected if two-thirds of voters in three or more governorates cast their ballots against it. Under last-minute changes agreed in a bid to win Sunni support, however, a panel is to mull further revisions to the charter following general elections in December.

In Baghdad, workers bathed in pale neon light checked and rechecked vote counts after the electoral commission said it would take “several more days to complete this difficult and complex operation”.

Commission spokesman Farid Ayyar told AFP the figures in question referred to the percentage of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes, rather than rates of participation. “This will require re-examination, comparison and verification because they are relatively high compared with international averages for elections,” a commission statement said. afp

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