Nope no voting fraud here...

[Bosh]

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/17/international/middleeast/17cnd-ballot.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 17 - Iraqi election officials said today that they were investigating what they described as "unusually high" vote totals in 12 Shiite and Kurdish provinces, where as many 99 percent of the voters were reported to have cast ballots in favor of Iraq's new constitution, raising the possibility that the results of Saturday's referendum could be called into question.

Only 99%??? Things have degenerated seriously since the balmy days of Saddam.

[Dinner]

That's an almost North Korean type turn out though I can't seriously see a shia or Kurd not voting for the constitution. It gives them just about everything they want.

[Seeker]

I think they actually topped saddams record!

[Sava]

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Seeker
I think they actually topped saddams record!

Yes, but there's still Kim Jong-il, he's claimed that he got EVERY SINGLE VOTE. Beat that!

[Kuciwalker]

This is embarrassing.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by Bosh
Yes, but there's still Kim Jong-il, he's claimed that he got EVERY SINGLE VOTE. Beat that!

Stalin regulary had MORE THAN 100%, as citizens from other districts were so enthusiastic they went to a neighbouring ballot nonethless!

[Atahualpa]

"were so enthusiastic"

[MikeH]

"We want democracy in Lebanon to succeed. And we know it cannot succeed so long as she is occupied by a foreign power" George W Bush.

Touché Mr Bush, touché

[Richelieu]

I saw a bit on the news yesterday where an old man actually cast seven ballots, one after the other, all in favor of the new constitution.

Why seven? I guess they ran out of ballots.

[Mao]

Originally posted by Spiffor

Stalin regulary had MORE THAN 100%, as citizens from other districts were so enthusiastic they went to a neighbouring ballot nonethless!

hehe, Musharaff (sp?) claims the same thing. It's a different mentality, he's very proud of it actually, "See how much they love me!!!"

[Ramo]

Remember that there were indications of fraud in the January elections. SCIRI seemed to be the primary culprit then, and the provinces which had > 95% yes vote seem to be generally SCIRI-controlled.

Nineveh's situation seems murky. Initial reports held that there was an enormous yes vote (which would indicate almost certain fraud), but now there are conflicting accounts.

[child of Thor]

Well its not going to be smooth i guess. Still as long they dont end up with a simple puppet(to the west) government, but a real honest to goodness attempt to take control of their lives(politicaly speaking) - then i'm all for 7 ballots per person, heck give them 70 if it makes them feel the vibe

[lord of the mark]

1. The high turnouts has triggered an audit by the Iraqi electoral commision. Whatever the results of that audit, and whether or not the IEC is completly unbiased or not, this is still a big difference from life under Saddam, or in North Korea today. Heck, Id say its better than Chicago, Illinois circa 1965, say.

2. Fraud in the Shia and Kurdish provinces will be of little significance, as they almost certainly voted yes anyway (which also makes you wonder why anyone bothered)

3. The real key is Nineveh province. Reports say a 70% yes, but this is not final, IIUC. and there are many questions there. A. What is the real population breakdown there? Iraq hasnt had a census in a long time - how many Kurds are there? Also there have apparently been Kurds moving in since April 2003 - how many are there now? How unified was the Sunni no vote - some Sunni bloggers and others indicate a uniform Sunni no vote - is that realistic? The Constitution was supported both by the Iraqi Islamic Party, and also by the Sunni politicians like Yawer who supported the January election, and received Sunni votes in January - one presumes they carried their supporters with them. How regionally concentrated are different groups - where is the IIP strong relative to other groups - and the tribes friendly to Yawer? How unrealistic is a 70% yes vote? And even if there was fraud, was it on a large enough magnitude that Nineveh could have gone 66% no?

4. Even IF there fraud was not large to determine the outcome on the constitution, its still very important to pursue it, and insure it cant happen again, to insure the legitimacy of the December elections.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Richelieu
I saw a bit on the news yesterday where an old man actually cast seven ballots, one after the other, all in favor of the new constitution.

Why seven? I guess they ran out of ballots.

Vote early and vote often, old man!