Making It Up As They Go Along
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 3 – Iraq’s Shiite and Kurdish leaders quietly adopted new rules over the weekend that will make it virtually impossible for the constitution to fail in the upcoming national referendum, prompting Sunni Arabs and a range of independent political figures to complain that the vote was being fixed.
Some Sunni leaders who have been organizing a campaign to vote down the document said today that they might now boycott the Oct. 15 referendum, because the rule change made their efforts futile. Other political leaders also reacted angrily, saying the change would seriously damage the vote’s credibility in Iraq and abroad.
Under the new rules, the constitution will fail only if two-thirds of all registered voters – rather than two-thirds of all those actually casting ballots – reject it in at least 3 of Iraq’s 18 provinces.
Okay. I see a reference to “Calvin Ball” on the blogosphere. But to me, this looks more like:
Boxer: “Gee, Napoleon. I thought the rule on the barn wall said that the Constitution would fail if two thirds of ballots cast in 3 of Iraq’s provinces rejected it .
Napoleon: No. It’s always said “registered voters”, regardless of whether anyone votes or not. Go look at the barn wall and see for yourself!
(Scritched writing on the newly added line due to space limitations.)