Hey everyone, just found an excellent post about Iraqi intellectuals, writers and assumeably bloggers singing up to become "independant monitors" for the upcoming elections and referendum, since no one from the outside is willing (or allowed?) to do so.

They expect that around 40,000 volunteers will be inspecting the elections to insure they are representative and no pressure is applied upon the voters by various groups.

The response by average Iraqi's and even the religious sect's has been positive, highlighting the pride and trust Iraq has in its intellectuals, which I would rate as being some of the worlds best.

I am glad and hopefull for the Iraqi people to hear this, and I hope it means there will be a fair and representative result.

But what happens if the constitution is not ratified, then the elections do not proceed until a new constitution is drawn up, or are there new elections to choose who will draw up the next constitution???

I hope this constitution is not ratified, or if it is, is replaced quickly to prevent Iraq from falling to peices. It is not representative of the Iraqi population, more representative of the Shiite extremist leaders, with a few concessions made to the Kurds and very little to ensure the future peace and prosperity of the Sunni sect.

Enjoy reading this article below, and go check out the link,
Iraq The Model is one of the best Iraqi blogs you will find- and this is coming from a self-proclaimed Iraqi Blog expert!


Here is the post from Omar on Iraq The Model , one of the most popular and reliable Iraqi blogs around.

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No one wants to come from outside to monitor the referendum? Fine!
Because Iraqi intellectuals, artists and writers have taken it upon themselves to do the tasks, Azzaman reports:

In the absence of foreign monitors due to mounting violence, Iraqi writers, artists and other intellectuals have volunteered to oversee the referendum on the constitution scheduled for October 15.
The Independent Elections Commission, the body organizing ballots in Iraq, has responded positively to a call from Iraqi intellectuals to register as independent monitors.
“Thousands have already come forward and we expect the final figure to reach 40,000 monitors,” commission member Hussein Hindawi said.
Iraqi intellectuals have seven more days to come forward to register their names as independent monitors, Hindawi said.
The commission has formed 28 major groups with 14,000 members who intend to be present at the voting stations across the country.
The groups will be assisted by civil society organizations whose members advocate the establishment of a secular, multi-party and democratic system of government.
Hindawi said he sensed that the disparate Iraqi ethnic, religious and political groups are happy to have the intellectuals supervise the referendum.
“The initiative shows the high esteem the society holds this sublime and high-standing sector of the community,” said Hindawi.
He said the volunteering of this huge number of intellectuals despite security risk is proof “of how concerned and keen they are for the future of their country and people.”
The initiative was taken because it was increasingly difficult to have independent foreign monitors supervise the referendum.