Saddam Wins New Term with 100 Percent 'Yes' Vote

16/10/2002| IslamWeb

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein won a perfect 100 percent of votes in a referendum for a new term in office, official results showed on Wednesday."Our leader President Saddam Hussein, may God preserve him and look after him, has won 100 percent of the votes of eligible voters," said Saddam's top deputy Izzat Ibrahim, reading official results at a news conference in Baghdad.

Ibrahim, vice-chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council, said all 11,445,638 Iraqis eligible to vote had done so and every single one of them answered "Yes" for another seven-year term for Saddam, who has ruled Iraq for 23 years.

As soon as Ibrahim finished reading the results, which was broadcast live on Iraqi television, soldiers and ruling Ba'ath Party members across Baghdad fired automatic rifles into the air in celebration.

The authorities had urged voters to turn out in force to show massive support for Saddam in the face of U.S. threats of military action and President Bush's declared desire to remove him from power.

The United States has dismissed the vote and said it lacked any credibility.

Amid vows to defend Saddam to the death, Iraqis cast ballots in the referendum, in which he was the lone candidate. Some voters ticked "Yes" for another seven-year term for the Iraqi leader with their own blood.

"Obviously it's not a very serious day, not a very serious vote, and nobody places any credibility on it," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, "It (the referendum) is not even worthy of our ridicule."

Celebrations had begun in earnest overnight after initial results from government-controlled television stations said several polling centers in Baghdad and the provinces returned 100 percent "Yes" votes for Saddam.

Displays of fireworks lit the night sky by Tigris river as small numbers of residents slaughtered sheep, a traditional Arab act of celebration.

"Tell Bush today we chose Saddam as our leader forever," a driver shouted as he honked.

The referendum outcome was never in doubt with the voting process tightly controlled by the government and no independent observers or other candidates.

Saddam won 99.96 percent in a first referendum in 1995.

Saddam's supporters had begun celebrating victory shortly after polls opened, dancing outside polling stations in the capital and slaughtering sheep.

Appointed president in 1979, Saddam has led Iraq through two major wars and survived several challenges to his rule. But with the United States determined to disarm Iraq, his toughest test might come in the next few months.

Bush, who says Saddam is producing weapons of mass destruction, has pushed ahead with U.S. policy for a "regime change" in Baghdad. He is seeking a tough U.N. resolution on weapons inspections after obtaining congressional authorization for the use of force against Saddam.

Iraq denies it has nuclear, chemical or biological weapons.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqis celebrate referendum results in Baghdad October 16, 2002. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein won a perfect 100 percent of votes in a referendum for a new term in office, official results showed on Wednesday. Izzat Ibrahim, vice-chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council, said all 11,445,638 Iraqis eligible to vote had done so and every single one of them answered 'Yes' for another seven-year term for Saddam, who has ruled Iraq for 23 years. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic