The Iraqui Referendum on the Constitution

I've read lots of commentary about the election on the proposed constitution.

Here are exerpts from three coverages -

the New York Times -

The mood on the streets of many Iraqi cities, even in Shiite areas, appeared markedly less enthusiastic than they were on Jan. 30, when millions of Iraqis braved an onslaught of violence to cast ballots and celebrate in a vast outpouring of pro-democratic sentiment. On Saturday, streets were noticeably sparse of pedestrians, polling centers were less busy, and voters exhibited little overt enthusiasm. "I sense that the turnout will be lower this time," said Zainab Kudir, the chief poll worker at the Marjayoun Primary School in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. "People feel their needs have not been met. There is no security. There are no jobs."

Local comment - News filing from a local translated into English -

Iraq vote turnout may exceed 10 million. Turnout in Iraq's constitutional referendum may have reached 10 million voters, or nearly two thirds of those registered, a member of Iraq's Electoral Commission said after polls closed. "I think it could be more than 10 million, I think, I hope," Farid Ayar, one of seven commissioners on the Electoral Commission, said on Saturday. "I was thinking that maybe we could get around 11 million voters. But Iraqis are getting more used to going and voting now, so perhaps it was a little bit quieter ... and it was Ramadan," he said, referring to the Muslim fasting month. If 10 million of the eligible 15.5 million voters cast ballots, that would give a turnout of around 65%, higher than the 58% recorded in January's election, the first held after Saddam Hussein's overthrow.

BBC

Voting was quiet, calm, and steady at the polling station we visited just south of Basra. There was not the excitement of January's election, but there was still an atmosphere of celebration among Iraq's Shias as they waited to vote. One man said with a big grin that he was very happy to be able to take part in the referendum - only the second time in decades that Iraqis have been able to cast a democratic ballot.

Which one is correct or accurate - the clear trend seems to be the middle one - more people voting - not the exuberance of January but more people exercising their franchise. Some differences between the Sunni and Shia areas. One wonders why the NYT would be so negative. Actually, one does not wonder. My real wonder is why anyone would look at their coverage for anything more than what it is - an apologia for a point of view rather than reportage.