Unusually high turnout rates may further alienate the already suspicious Sunni minority. American reaction is crucial. The administration should not sweep allegations of corruption under the carpet; domestic political considerations should not supersede election legitimacy and Iraqi consensus.
From the New York Times:
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.
A spokesman for the National Dialogue Council, an Arab nationalist political group, told the LAT that, according to his group, 95 percent of Sunnis voted to reject the charter. "If 95% of a segment of the population can't stop the constitution, then who can?" he asked.
Ed:LisaM
Article comments
1 - Dave Nalle
>>Unusually high turn out rates may further alienate the already suspicious Sunni minority.<<
You mean like the unusually high turnout rates in Sunni controlled areas where 99% turned out to vote 90% against the Constitution, even though Sunnis in areas with more natural looking vote counts voted about 50-50 on the Constitution?
If there's fraud it cuts both ways.
Dave