Omar reports preliminary results:
These are the turnout levels recorded in the 18 provinces in Iraq according to the electoral commission in the latest press conference:
High= more than 66%
Moderate= 33% – 66%
Low= less than 33%
Duhok: moderate.
Erbil: moderate.
Sulaymania: high.
Mosul: high.
Kirkuk: high.
Diyala: high.
Anbar: unknown.
Baghdad: high.
Babil: high.
Kerbala: high.
Wasit: moderate.
Salahiddin: high.
Al-Muthana: moderate.
Al-Qadisiya: low.
Najaf: high.
Thi Qar: moderate.
Maysan: moderate.
Basra: moderate.
Anbar, Nineveh, Salahuddin and Diyala are the provinces where the terrorists have decided to take a stand.
Anbar: unknown. high.
Salahiddin: high.
Diyala: high.
Nineveh is Mosul. Mosul: high.
Update 10/16: Turnout in Anbar province was extremely high– Accounts of Sunni turnout were mixed, with election officials saying it was high but acknowledging that about 60 of the roughly 200 polling centers in war-torn Anbar province didn’t open.
But turnout reached 93 percent in Anbar’s heavily Sunni city of Fallujah after clerics and others went door-to-door telling residents it was safe enough to venture out of their homes, election officials said.
Anbar was seen as likely to reject the constitution by the required two-thirds. By late Saturday, Salahuddin province also appeared to be nearing a two-thirds “no” vote after an overwhelming showing in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown, where some election officials said that 90 percent of the voters cast ballots.
There were no figures from Ninevah or the other majority Sunni province, Diyala, but those are considered harder for the constitution’s opponents to dominate.
Much to the relief of U.S. and Iraqi forces, Saturday’s balloting was mostly peaceful. Officials reported that only five of Baghdad’s 1,200 polling stations were attacked, with seven voters wounded.
Thanks to Right on Right, BRight and Early
Iraq Votes On Constitution
Iraqis are voting on a new constitution. Millions of people are going to the polls, playing a role in how their nation will be governed. They are doing so bravely, in the face of threats from terrorists who have demonstrated time and again their evil …
And what was that the left always used to be telling us? Something about how it wasn’t possible to export democracy to the Arab world? Wrong again. Heh.
I went to some Iraqi blogs today. Iraqis don’t seem to have an idea about what is really happening, it seems. Perhaps I am looking at this through the eyes of a westerner…but I still see this as a good thing, in spite of reports like this:
Some people voted–not because they were voting “for” the constitution…but because they were in defiance of the terrorists.
Some simply voted “no”…
But under Saddam, there was only 1 candidate on the ballots, everyone was forced to participate, and he would ceremoniously and victoriously announce that he had 100% of the votes. Some of that stuff sounds incredibly ridiculous to me.
But…if you were under the iron fist of a tyrant for your whole life–it’s possible that you’re expecting another dictator to step in. Some people didn’t vote because they think “the americans will decide this”…which couldn’t be further from the truth.
It’s going to take them a long time to get this idea into the fabric of their lives. Lively discussion is necessary…and keeping the terrorists on the run is absolutely mandatory if they’re to feel safe and really taste their freedom.
Some people do understand–they went to the polls because they understand it’s going to take time for their lives to improve, for things to change, and they’re sacrificing for the idea of Iraq.
We, the people, of Iraq …
Cao’s Blog also has the latest.