BAGHDAD, October 25 – The Iraqi citizens have approved the constitutional draft en masse. The referendum saw almost an unanimous approval by the Shiits and Kurds and only the Sunni population rejected it in majority making the total approval rate 79%.
The division between these population groups is telling for the situation in Iraq. Sunnis are the backbone of the Iraqi insurgents and are the ones attacking the democracy being built. The Shiite and Kurdish communities have embraced the constitutional draft as it was set up by them, it favors their position in the Iraqi public life after being dictated for the past few decades by Saddam Hussein. The Sunni population of course reject this because they are cut off from the profits of the rich oil fields which fall under control of the Shiites and Kurds now. Their fault was that they boycotted the elections earlier this year so they had no say in the constitutional draft and now at the referendum they did not have enough voting power to overturn the constitution.
Sunnis have announced extreme measures against the democracy now, they have even called upon the United Nations to intervene because there are mistreated. Most likely insurgent attacks will rise in the coming weeks trying to disrupt the democratic process.
